When your business sells services or products via the internet, you always want to have the client or customer agree to certain terms and conditions of the transaction. These contract terms are generally flashed before the eyes of the client all at once and if they click the “accept” button, they indicate that they accept all of the terms and conditions. For this reason, this is commonly referred to as a “click-through” agreement.
Click-through agreements often include terms including warranty waivers or disclaimers, intellectual property license restrictions and protections, limitations on liability, and other terms in a standard contract. While consumers are expected to read a contract before they sign (or click), they rarely do and even if they take the time to read it, they may not understand the implications of many terms without knowledge of contract law.
Because many click-through agreement have terms favorable to the business, owners do not mind when consumers simply click without reading. However, it is important to know whether these agreements will be enforced in court if a consumer brings a legal claim or breaches the contract.
Court cases have addressed the enforceability of click-through agreements and have found there are certain factors required to uphold this type of contract, including:
- The terms are reasonable in that commercial industry
- The term in question was not unconscionable
- The consumer had the opportunity to reject the contract and receive a refund
- There are no other applicable legal defenses to the contract.
To avoid having a click-through agreement thrown out in court, it is always wise to have an experienced business contracts attorney draft and/or review any click-through agreements you have on your website.
Call an Experienced Houston Business Contracts Attorney for Assistance
At The Weisblatt Law Firm LLC, we have helped many business owners in Houston draft, review and negotiate business contracts to best protect their interests. Our business lawyer can also represent you if you are already facing a legal conflict and potential liability. If you would like to learn more about our services, please call our office at 713-666-1981.
1 https://casetext.com/case/groff-v-america-online-inc
Attorney Andrew Weisblatt
Mr. Weisblatt has practiced continuously since becoming licensed in 1992 and has represented businesses ranging in size from one person start-up ventures to multi-national corporations employing hundreds of people in multiple countries. From 2005 through 2009 Mr. Weisblatt was in-house counsel and chief operating officer of a multi-national corporation in the steel products industry. That in-house position provided valuable insight into how businesses work and what they actually need from their lawyers – both in-house and outside counsel. Attorney Bio
