Free Digital Content + User Content Website Terms of Use

These Free Digital Content + User Content Website Terms and Conditions are designed for websites that make digital content available free of charge, including information, images, sound, and video, while also allowing users to upload and share their own material. They are suitable for a wide range of websites, particularly those built around the sharing of creative content.

The terms are intended to be accepted through use, so visitors are deemed to accept them as soon as they start using the site. Users may also be required to accept them when creating an account, and the template refers to other website policies that may apply, such as a Privacy Policy and Acceptable Usage Policy.

Built for websites hosting both site content and user content

This template is designed for websites that publish their own free digital content while also giving users the ability to upload and share content. It therefore addresses both the operator’s content and the distinct legal issues that arise where user-generated material is hosted on the site.

Intellectual property and protection against scraping

Intellectual property provisions are a key part of the template. It includes two alternative versions of the IP clause, allowing you to choose a more restrictive or more flexible approach to saving, copying, and using content from the site.

In either case, use of your content can be limited to personal use or opened up to commercial use where appropriate. The template also includes a clause prohibiting scraping and text and data mining, so that such activity is a direct breach of the website terms. Technical measures may also be advisable to help protect content.

How user content is dealt with

User content is covered in a dedicated section. Users retain copyright and other intellectual property rights in what they upload, but grant you a licence to display and use that content for the operation of the site.

The template also includes different options dealing with how other users may use user content on the site. It makes clear that users are responsible for the content they upload, must comply with the Acceptable Usage Policy, and may be required to indemnify you if their breach causes you loss or damage.

Responsibility for backups is also addressed. Users are responsible for backing up their own content, and the site operator is not responsible if that content is lost.

Complaints, reporting, and other key provisions

If a user wishes to complain about another user’s content, the template explains how they can do so. An optional link may also be included to a page on your site explaining your reporting and take-down process, how relevant guidelines are developed, enforced, and reviewed, and where you provide information on metrics and take-down. This reflects guidance in the UK Government’s Code of Practice for Providers of Online Social Media Platforms.

The template also covers other important website terms, including:

• information about the website operator and relevant regulatory details;
• accounts, access to the site, and changes to the site or the terms;
• links to and from the site;
• disclaimers and liability, with separate provisions for consumers and business users; and
• viruses, malware, security, acceptable use, personal information, and communications.

For certain trades and professions, additional information may be required by law. Members of regulated professions may need to include professional titles, links to professional rules, and other regulatory details, so professional advice should be taken where relevant.

Free Digital Content + User Content Website Terms of Use is part of Business . Just £38.50 + VAT provides unlimited downloads from Business for 1 year.