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Don White wondered: <<If you have set up a technical communications
company, do you use a Limitations of Liability clause in your
contracts?>>
I'm a sole proprietor without a registered company, but my contract
specifically and clearly states that I am not a subject-matter expert
and that all my work must be approved by such experts to ensure that no
technical problems arise. Depending on the specific contract (most of
my work is editing), I also include a clause stating that final
approval of all my edits (to ensure that I haven't changed a meaning or
lost context) is the client's responsibility.
<<Personally, I cannot see how most writing in and of itself would
require a warranty or a warranty disclaimer...>>
Clients are people too. That means most of them are great to work with,
but the occasional one is a right proper bastard and will go out of
their way to screw you. A contract is your only protection, and that
contract should be legally valid ***in your jurisdiction***. That means
you need to include a clause stating which jurisdiction's laws govern
the contract, then run it past a lawyer in that jurisdiction to confirm
that it's legally valid.
<<Same with policies you may have regarding guarantees and remedies for
disputes or breaches of contract.>>
My contract also explicitly states that I retain copyright for the work
I've done until such time as I receive full payment, but that I'll
grant (upon request) permission to use my work if partial payment has
been received and I'm confident the rest of the money is coming.
<<I need help determining how these things should be structured or
(better yet) a clue or two concerning templates for such things.>>
Because jurisdictions vary in their legal gymnastics, you really need
to go to a lawyer. People like Nolo Press (http://nolo.com/) offer
templates to get you started, and using these templates can trim your
legal bills, but you'll still need final approval of your revision of a
template by a lawyer.
--Geoff Hart ghart -at- videotron -dot- ca
(try geoffhart -at- mac -dot- com if you don't get a reply)
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