Disclaimer

A disclaimer is a statement denying responsibility that is intended to prevent civil liability arising for particular acts or omissions. Disclaimers are frequently made to escape the effects of negligence. The courts may or may not give effect to the disclaimer depending on whether the law permits exclusion of liability in the particular situation and whether the acts or omissions complained of fall within the wording of the disclaimer.

A disclaimer may take effect as a term of the contract between the person making the disclaimer and the person who is thereby prevented from suing. This kind of disclaimer is, for example, invariably found in the "terms and conditions" that a software user is confronted with when first installing the software. There will often be term excluding any liability for any damage that the software might cause to the rest of the user's software and hardware. By clicking "I Agree" or "I Accept" in the dialog box, users are agreeing to this disclaimer as matter of contract between themselves and the software company.