Legal Disclaimer

Leezer Kaur
May 3, 2023
3 min read

“Written by Leezer Kaur, a student".

Introduction

A legal disclaimer is a legal notice or statement which mentions that a particular entity cannot be held responsible for something. It may also provide for the risk associated with a particular product or service and instructions to prevent the risk. This is how the entity can limit its liability. For example, if an opinion is provided by a writer and that is not information to be relied upon by the readers, then he can provide at the end of the article that he cannot be held responsible for it, and this becomes a legal disclaimer. These are mainly used to limit their liability by the people, their companies and businesses, etc. However, it cannot go to the extent of complete release of liability of that entity and can still be held responsible for the same.

It will not protect the entity against any legal action if it voluntarily provides an inferior product or service to the people. Somehow, it will reduce their responsibility if the entity provides related risks and measures to prevent them in their legal disclaimer. The entity can claim that it provided the instructions which were supposed to be obeyed by the person using that product or service.

Particulars to be provided in it

A legal disclaimer is supposed to provide the following:

It must provide for the risks associated with the product or service.
It must also provide instructions or precautions which could be adopted to prevent that risk.
It must provide the name of the product or service concerning which the liability is limited.
It must also specify the name of the entity whose liability is being limited.
It must also specify the limit of the liability of the entity providing the product or the service.

However, there is no hard and fast rule that it must provide for all the above-mentioned details but these are the essentials that will make it a legal disclaimer. It may also provide some other important information that the entity considers essential for the knowledge of the person utilizing the product or the service.

Uses

It is used mainly to waive their liability by the businesses and websites, etc.

Websites: A website provides information to the visitors of the website. A legal disclaimer may be provided at the end of the website to limit the liability of the person providing such information. It may state that the information that is being provided on the website is accurate and correct to the best knowledge of the information provider. It may also state that the visitor is responsible for verifying the information before using it. However, if it is used by the visitors to rely upon, then the visitors would be independently responsible for the same. Such a disclaimer will limit the liability of the information provider, but it will not completely relieve its liability.
E-mails: In the case of e-mails, it may state that the e-mail is intended for the named recipient only and can prevent the person from any mistake of sending it to the wrong recipient. It may also state that the opinions expressed in the attachments are the personal views of the person sending them, and the company cannot be held liable for the same. It can also provide for anti-virus measures and related disclaimers in case of such a threat.
Products: Legal disclaimers are used by the manufacturers of the product to provide for the risks or dangers associated with the product and the instructions which could be followed to prevent those issues. It may also state the potential consequences of improper use of the product. This can protect the manufacturer from the damage suffered by the customer due to improper use of the product or inability to comply with the instructions provided.

Conclusion

A legal disclaimer is a legal notice used by an entity to limit its liability for the product or service provided by them. It may be used by writers, manufacturers, websites, e-mail senders, etc., to limit their responsibility and liability. However, it cannot fully relieve the entity of its liability to its product or service.

References

'Legal disclaimer', SEQ Legal, available at: https://seqlegal.com/free-legal-documents/legal-disclaimer.
'Legal disclaimer', available at: https://seqlegal.com/free-legal-documents/legal-disclaimer.
'How to write a legal disclaimer for business', available at: https://www.wikihow.com/Write-a-Legal-Disclaimer-for-Your-Business.