{"id":4958,"date":"2017-06-12T11:33:11","date_gmt":"2017-06-12T11:33:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ftcguardian.com\/articles\/?p=4958"},"modified":"2018-03-18T23:34:22","modified_gmt":"2018-03-18T23:34:22","slug":"your-online-customer-agreement-which-end-user-agreement-approach-is-right-for-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ftcguardian.com\/articles\/your-online-customer-agreement-which-end-user-agreement-approach-is-right-for-you\/","title":{"rendered":"Your Online Customer Agreement: Which End-User Agreement Approach is Right For You?"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1><strong>Your Online Customer Agreement:\u00a0<\/strong><strong>Which End-User Agreement Approach is Right For You?<\/strong><\/h1>\n<p>By Chip Cooper, Esq.<\/p>\n<p>If you offer software as a service (SaaS), your choices among contracting approaches for users include an electronic, click-wrapped agreement or a more traditional paper-based, signed agreement \u2013 or even a hybrid of these two approaches.<\/p>\n<p>How do you decide which approach is right for you?\u00a0 What are the factors to consider?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Click-Wrapped Agreement Approach<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>With the click-wrapped agreement approach, the agreement is presented to the user as part of the online registration process, usually in a scroll box configuration. \u00a0The user indicates assent to the agreement by clicking on an I ACCEPT\u00a0 button.<\/p>\n<p>Click-wrapped agreements are usually utilized in one or more of the following circumstances:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>relatively low price point service, and\/or<\/li>\n<li>service that is tailored for the small businesses or consumer markets as distinguished from the corporate market.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The advantages of the click-wrapped agreement approach are:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>simplicity \u2013 the agreement is presented online automatically, and the process is relatively simple and easy;<\/li>\n<li>no negotiation of contracts \u2013 it\u2019s a take-it-or-leave-it approach;<\/li>\n<li>no contract administration headaches \u2013 the agreement is the same for everyone and there are few contract administration tasks; and<\/li>\n<li>a relatively fast sales cycle due to the factors listed above.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The disadvantages of the click-wrapped agreement approach are:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>you\u2019ve got to follow the applicable case law regarding the contracting process, or it won\u2019t be enforceable;<\/li>\n<li>some users that do not agree with a specific contract term may not do business with you; and<\/li>\n<li>the corporate market may require more comprehensive contract terms and the opportunity to negotiate them.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Traditional Paper-Based, Signed Agreement Approach<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a class=\"popup_DATA_BROKER\" data-toggle=\"modal\" data-target=\"#popup_DATA_BROKER_modal\" href=\"#\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/images\/button_banner-Data_Broker.png\" alt=\"\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>With the traditional paper-based, signed agreement approach, the agreement is presented to the user in paper form.\u00a0 It\u2019s almost always negotiated, and it\u2019s signed by both parties to indicate assent to the agreement.<\/p>\n<p>Traditional paper-based, signed agreements are usually used in one or more of the following circumstances:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>relatively high price point service, and\/or<\/li>\n<li>service that is tailored to the corporate market as distinguished from the small business or consumer markets.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The advantages of the signed agreement approach are:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>you have the opportunity to negotiate certain terms and conditions that may cause some users to go elsewhere, and<\/li>\n<li>you have the opportunity to present terms and conditions that the corporate market expects to see.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The disadvantages of the signed agreement approach are:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>complexity \u2013 the process is relatively complex and difficult;<\/li>\n<li>negotiation \u2013 a written agreement is an open invitation to negotiate and you\u2019ll probably require the services of an experienced attorney;<\/li>\n<li>contract administration headaches \u2013 differences in negotiated terms and conditions require administrative attention; and<\/li>\n<li>a relatively slow sales cycle due to the factors listed above.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>One key point to keep in mind \u2013 despite the disadvantages of the signed agreement approach, you may just have to use it if your primary market is the corporate market.\u00a0 As a general rule, the corporate market expects to see a written agreement with the opportunity to negotiate.\u00a0 If this is the case with your SaaS service, your market will dictate your contracting approach for you.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/go.ftcguardian.com\/bw4uoy\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/ftcguardian\/images\/728x90-Un-vjy-FTC-GUARDIAN-banner-2.gif\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>The Hybrid Approach<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>A hybrid approach \u2013 where both approaches are used \u2013 may be a way to avoid some or all of the disadvantages of click-wrapped agreement approach and the signed agreement approach.<\/p>\n<p>With the hybrid approach, the click-wrapped approach is used as the default approach.\u00a0 However, the click-wrapped approach may be supplemented with the traditional paper-based, signed agreement approach for corporate users that insist on a comprehensive agreement the opportunity to negotiate.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Choosing the right contracting approach is vital to the success of your business.\u00a0 The key is successfully addressing what your market expects or will bear, while reducing or eliminating as many contracting disadvantages as possible.<\/p>\n<h2>Here\u2019s How To Make Sure You,\u00a0Your Business & Website Is FTC Compliant<\/h2>\n<p>By now it should be clear how important it is for you to be FTC compliant. But how can you do that without spending $7,500-$8,000 or more on Internet Attorneys?<\/p>\n<p>Smart business owners around the world are doing it with the help of FTC Guardian.<\/p>\n<p>FTC Guardian is a service that is 100% focused on helping to keep you get and stay FTC compliant and fully protected.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/go.ftcguardian.com\/bw4uoy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">And right now, we are offering a free training to give you the knowledge, information, and guidance that you need to stay out of trouble with the Federal Trade Commission.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Free Compliance Workshop:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/go.ftcguardian.com\/bw4uoy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Join Chip Cooper, Esq., the #1 FTC Compliance trainer in the World, for a one-of-kind, completely free online compliance workshop. Workshops fill up quickly, so register now.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Here are some of the things you\u2019ll discover on the training:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Real-Life Examples of People Who Didn\u2019t Think They Were At Risk, But Who Got Nailed By The FTC, And Why It Could Happen To You, Too<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>The 3 Enormous Powers The FTC Has That Can Change Your Life \u2013 And Your Family\u2019s Life \u2013 Forever!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>How to Avoid FTC Claims When Collecting Leads With Optin Forms<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>3 Privacy Policy Mistakes Every Digital Marketer Is Making, And Why You\u2019re In The FTC\u00a0Crosshairs.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>And Much More\u2026<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Remember: legal protection is a massively important part of your business, and it\u2019s one you cannot afford to ignore any longer.<\/b><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/go.ftcguardian.com\/bw4uoy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Go here to register for our next FREE training and make your business is FTC compliant today!<\/a><\/p>\n<p><b>Disclaimer: \u00a0This article is provided for informational purposes only. It\u2019s not legal advice, and no attorney-client relationship is created. Neither the author nor FTC Guardian, Inc. is endorsed by the Federal Trade Commission.<\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Your Online Customer Agreement:\u00a0Which End-User Agreement Approach is Right For You? By Chip Cooper, Esq. If you offer software as a service (SaaS), your choices among contracting approaches for users include an electronic, click-wrapped agreement or a more traditional paper-based, &hellip;  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_analytify_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,12],"tags":[15,39,55,56],"class_list":["post-4958","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-biz-op","category-ftc-compliance","tag-ftc-compliance","tag-membership-websites","tag-online-complicance","tag-technology"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ftcguardian.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4958","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ftcguardian.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ftcguardian.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ftcguardian.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ftcguardian.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4958"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.ftcguardian.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4958\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6305,"href":"https:\/\/www.ftcguardian.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4958\/revisions\/6305"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ftcguardian.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4958"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ftcguardian.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4958"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ftcguardian.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4958"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}