TOS or Terms of Service are terms and conditions that govern a website owner's use of his/her website
The use of the TOS is part of the agreement that a website owner establishes when he/she owns a website. The most common types of TOS are the limited user contracts, the commercial licenses, the non-exclusive licenses, the proprietary licenses, and the perpetual licenses. A description of each of these types can be found in the paragraphs below.
Limited User Contract: This type of TOS is normally employed by websites that are used by only a single person or entity. The use of this type of contract can be restricted to an individual who uses the site only for personal purposes and not for commercial purposes. This type of TOS usually has a limited time period, which is also referred to as the "Term." If a website owner decides to terminate the usage of his/her website, he/she can do so within the specified term.
Commercial Licenses: A commercial license, also known as the "Commercial User Agreement" is usually used by websites that have commercial functions. It includes the use of the website to serve advertising purposes. However, the website owner can also include the use of his/her website as a forum, to enable users to discuss issues regarding the product, service, or company. Unlike the limited user contract, there is no definite period limit on the use of the website for advertising purposes.
Non-Exclusive or Non-Proprietary licenses: A non-exclusive or non-proprietary license is typically used by websites that do not wish to limit their usage of their websites to only one particular person or entity. For example, these websites do not restrict the usage of a website to a certain geographic area or to only use a single language. On the contrary, they will allow any and all users who want to use a website to access it, but they will not allow the use of their website for commercial purposes.
Proprietary licenses: A proprietary license can be defined as a type of limited use license wherein a website owner allows only a particular entity to use his/her website. Examples of entities that may be allowed to use a website to include only employees of a business or organizations which the website owner allows to access the website. It is similar to the limited user contract, but it differs in that it allows the use of the website for commercial purposes.
Proprietary licenses are usually used by websites that are being developed for profit or by individuals who want to start a business from their own website. The website owner usually pays a one-time fee that provides unlimited use of the website. The owner may also charge the user a monthly subscription fee to access his/her website.
Perpetual licenses: A perpetual license is the type of TOS where the website owner has the right to utilize the website for a lifetime and does not have to pay any fees for its use after the license expires. It is the most expensive type of TOS. However, it offers the most freedom of use.
All types of TOS must be explicitly agreed upon when a website is created
Although a website owner may be able to use the website for other purposes, if a violation is discovered during the lifetime of the contract, he/she will have to stop using his/her website.
Permitted uses for each type of license is different for each type of license. Some are limited to a time period, while others allow the use of the website indefinitely.
It is also important to note that some of the TOS will require that you provide a copy of the code used for the website to the website owner on your first website use. There is no provision to ask for your code.
When you choose an online software development company to handle the technical issues of your website, you need to carefully read through the Terms of Service (TOS). Be sure to know exactly what it says.
