Postette: Can You Incorporate Online Terms and Conditions into a Written Contract?

Contract Law Basics and Tips

I’ve been asked on occasion whether a company can post its standard terms and conditions online and incorporate them into their contracts by inserting a reference in each contract to the online terms. The answer in many cases is yes, but there are some issues to navigate. This excellent article, which appeared in the April 2010 newsletter of the Business Law Section of the North Carolina Bar Association contains an overview of the issues involved, as well as some helpful recommendations.

3 comments… add one
  • Nelson Mar 18, 2011 Link Reply

    Very useful post, especially for those of us using QuickBooks (which does not have a way to automatically attach T&Cs to POs, Quotes, etc.).

    • Brian Rogers Mar 18, 2011 Link Reply

      Nelson: Thanks for the comment. I’ll be giving the topic more extensive treatment at some point in one or more posts, but thought the article from the NC bar would be helpful. I’m glad to have that confirmed.

  • Jorge Mafud Feb 14, 2013 Link Reply

    I still haven’t read the post you mention but, as a first thought, I find it unsettling.

    Say, if I signed a contract on 2012 and agreed to the T&Cs that were then published in my counterparty’s website but then in 2013 said T&Cs are changed (and I don’t realize that) and then a conflict arises…. I would certainly be unprotected since I’d have no way to evidence that the T&Cs that I read and accepted when the agreement was signed are not the same as the current T&Cs.

    I’d very much appreciate your thoughts on this.

    Regards.

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