Affiliate Marketing And The Law – Some Legal Pitfalls To Avoid
Let’s get one thing straight from the get go here. I am NOT a lawyer or even anything close to a lawyer. So I do NOT know about the actual recorded laws or what the legal statutes are as far Affiliate Marketing goes or even if there are any.
This is just an article on what I have learned and from my experience as to what you should have on your website at the very least and to help you avoid some other possible legal issues as you run your online business.
I do know that Affiliate Marketing is a legal and ethical way of doing business online. Plus it a very lucrative one too. It takes hard work and time but it is well worth it in the long run. Want to know about Affiliate Marketing then leave me a comment below and I will gladly respond to you.
Affiliate Marketing and the law
As an Affiliate Marketer that maintains a website and sells products/services online, you should at the very least have a General Disclaimer somewhere on their website. To see what a General Disclaimer looks like just click this link.
In 2015, the Federal Trade Commission released their new rules for Disclosure Compliance.
You should also have a Privacy Policy Page explaining how you will be handling your reader’s submitted information. To see what a Privacy Policy Page looks like then just click this link.
Some Affiliate Companies that you sign up with, like Amazon, require you to place a specific Affiliate Disclaimer on your website if you are marketing their product.
If you look to the right, in my sidebar, and scroll down a bit you will see the Amazon Affiliate Disclaimer that I am required, by Amazon, to have displayed on my website.
I have never been required to have any additional “legal” stuff on my website. So just doing these few things will keep you out of sticky situations, which is a really good thing don’t you think?
If anyone knows of additional requirements that I have missed then please leave a comment below about it and I will much appreciative. Thanks.
Using Images On Your Website
This topic always seems to cause a debate. There are many viewpoints when it comes to what images you can use and what you cannot use. There are also many viewpoints on which sites to use to gather your images from.
There is no denying the fact that “paid for” images are the safest and also the best images, more so than the free ones. Free ones you really need to look at the CC license that is attached to it to see how it can be used.
Creative Commons (CC) is a licensing agent that helps to legally protect people’s creative content. Most Photographers, Graphic Artists, etc., will protect their work that they create but adding a CC license to their image that will dictate how it can be used and shared.
Here is a chart the shows the different Creative Commons License structure.
A CC0 license means that the image can be used by everyone in any way that they choose and for any use. The restrictions go up from there.
So to avoid any issues, either buy your images or make sure that the image has a CC0 license attached and you will avoid legal trouble.
Follow this link for an extensive list of websites that host images and pictures. My personal favorites for free images with a CC0 license, are Pixabay.com, Pexels.com, Unsplash.com and a few others that I sometimes will look at if I cannot find what I want from the first three.
Google images are my last resort but you have to check the license on the images even if you use the “Labeled for Reuse” option. They will sometimes require that you accredit the author of the image.
Using Affiliate Links On Your Website
Affiliate links are the actual links that will link to the product that you are promoting on your website. They are what monetize your website.
Each individual Affiliate Company has their own Terms of Operation when it comes to using their affiliate product links and how you promote their product on your website.
So to avoid getting your account revoked or legal action taken against you, be sure to READ their Terms of Operation and Usage Rights. Don’t ask someone, READ it yourself.
I will use Amazon as an example for how some Affiliate Companies define the terms of their affiliate product links and how you are allowed to use them on your website. This is just a short list of some of the usage rights Amazon imposes.
- You can NOT copy and paste an image of a product
and place it on your website. - You can only use the code (which has your unique affiliate code in it) for the product and paste that in your website to promote the product.
- There are three choices for selecting how a product is displayed; Text only, Text & Image and Image only.
- You must be an accepted Affiliate Member to use the product description code.
- You may NOT add the price of the product on your website. You have to only use the price that is embedded in the code for that product’s affiliate link.
Some AffilIate Companies have a minimum traffic requirement before they will accept your application. So, promote your site to generate traffic. Then apply for the Affiliate Program.
Taxes
This is a sticky subject for most people. Taxes are hard to explain as each country has its own tax laws and you will need to look into your countries laws when it comes to taxes.
There are no international tax laws controlling Affiliate Marketing that I know of. If anyone knows
anything different then please leave me a comment below so that I too may be informed about it, thanks.
For the USA, Affiliate Companies that you have signed a contract with, will in general, give you a W-1099 at the end of each year showing your total commissions earned for that year. It is your responsibility to pay the taxes on your income.
Amazon, for example, will only issue a W-1099 if you earn more than $600 for the year. Anything less and they do not issue a tax form to you.
Final Thoughts
Well, that is it for the legal issues with regards to Affiliate Marketing and the Law that I know of. I hope that you found this article helpful and informative. If you have any questions or comments then please leave them below and I will be happy to respond to you.
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June 25, 2017 @ 4:23 pm
Hi Carl,
This has been very helpful to me, thank you for this article. English is not my mother tongue and yet you’ve written this so clearly and simply.
If I buy a product, take a photo of it and publish it on my website with a review (no affiliate link or anything, just starting out here), would I be doing anything illegal? sorry for the newbie’s question 🙂
June 25, 2017 @ 4:46 pm
Hi Noa
Thank you for your kind words. I am glad u found the article useful, it really means a lot to me.
If u take your own photos of the product then yes u can use them just fine on your website, nothing illegal about that.
Ask as many questions as u like and I will be happy to try and give u answers.
Thanks for stopping by and I wish u well
Carl
June 5, 2017 @ 3:55 am
Thanks for this article, sometimes in affiliate marketing many people forget that they are building a business and thus are subject to many regulations related to online business practices. I didn’t know you had to write a disclaimer if are an Amazon affiliate. I recently applied and yet to hear back from them, But once I get approved, I will make sure I put a disclaimer somewhere on the website. Do they by any chance tell you this? or is it hidden somewhere in their TOS?
June 5, 2017 @ 11:49 am
Hello Minhaj
Yes, it so true that people forget to check for what they require to put on their websites for some legal protection. They get excited in the moment developing their websites and forget the little legal things. Yes, Amazon does tell u about the disclaimer and yes it is in their TOS Agreement or Operating Agreement somewhere. I am glad that u found something useful from my article.
Thanks for stopping by.
cheers
Carl
June 3, 2017 @ 8:14 am
Wow, I was just thinking about this the other day! I’m so glad you cleared some things up for me and now I know what I need to look into more. I honestly didn’t know Amazon required you to post a disclaimer on your website. Where is that located on the Amazon Associates page? Thanks for the great information!
June 3, 2017 @ 11:29 am
Hello
Glad the article was able to help u. Yes, Amazon requires a disclaimer. If u cannot find it on the Amazon Associates website then u can use mine on my website here (My Disclaimer). It is a general disclaimer for Amazon and for those programs that do not have their own disclaimer. Hope this helps u
Thanks for stopping by.
Cheers
Carl
June 2, 2017 @ 9:33 pm
Carl, this is just good, you are a real teacher and an educator. its informative, good content, straight to the point and understandable. Your website is gonna be my stop over. Thanks for the ideas.
All the best.
June 2, 2017 @ 10:04 pm
Hello Ada
Thanks very much for your kind words. I am glad u found the article useful. I am here to help people as much as I can. Legal issues I believe are important to avoid as best as we can. A few minor additions to your site and some due diligence when using information from the web is all we need to avoid a lot of possible legal issues that could hold up your site for a long time during which time u will not receive traffic and thus lose revenue which none of us want to happen. I am really happy u like the site and I hope to see u again soon.
Thanks for stopping by.
Cheers
Carl
June 2, 2017 @ 12:07 pm
Thanks for this informative post. The legal issues of the whole process sometimes make me nervous. I am trying my best to stay focus so I do not fall into any of the illegal stuff.
You have done an excellent job to inform us of the things we should look out for.
Good Read
June 2, 2017 @ 12:36 pm
Hi Luna
I am glad u found the article useful. The legal issues can get a little sticky that’s for sure. By doing some research and adding these things to your site will at least keep u out of some possible trouble down the road. It is better to be prepared than to get suddenly hit with some legal issue that could have been avoided if u had something as simple as a disclaimer on your site. I thank u so much for taking the time to read and comment on my article. It is much appreciated.
Carl
May 31, 2017 @ 5:23 pm
Hi, This has been very interesting reading for me. I had just been wondering about the Amazon disclosure and if we needed one. I just signed up recently and wasn’t aware of that. And I really appreciate the explanation on the free photos. I was very hazy on that. I’m going to check all mine.
About the affiliate disclosure: If you are an affiliate with a non network company are you still supposed to put an affiliate disclosure and do you make your own or is there one use?
May 31, 2017 @ 10:08 pm
Hi Lula
Thank u stopping by and taking the time to review my article. I am glad it was informative for u. U only need to have a Disclaimer on your site if u are selling/promoting a product from which u will be receiving a commission from. There are many sites online that have general Disclaimers that are available for use. So if u are not getting paid then u do not need a Disclaimer on your site. Unless an Affiliate company requires a certain Disclaimer a general Disclaimer will work. Hope this helps u some.
Cheers
Carl
May 30, 2017 @ 2:40 am
I am much concerned about the use of copyright-free images for my website because I have heard horror stories of people running into legal issues because of misuse of images that are not licensed for use. Also I think it is important to make the affiliate disclosure up front. As a legitimate business, it’s always best to comply with the law as much as possible to avoid long-term headaches.
May 31, 2017 @ 3:52 pm
Hi Moon
Yes, images can be a real legal issue if u use the wrong kind of image. I am glad u found this article informative and helpful. Staying out of legal issues is a good thing when running an online business. Thanks for stopping by.
Cheers
Carl
May 29, 2017 @ 5:46 pm
Thank you for this informative post. I learned a few new things about legalities and what not to do. I think it is so easy to fall into doing things the wrong way. You have helped a lot of people with this post Carl.
May 29, 2017 @ 6:07 pm
Hello Merry
Thank you for the kind words. I am glad you were able to gain something from my article. I enjoy helping people and that is what I try and do with this website. I thank u for stopping by and reading my article. 🙂
cheers
Carl
May 29, 2017 @ 3:50 pm
WOW, everyone is quick to sell you into a system but very few are willing to inform you about the pitfalls and legal jargon. Thanks a lot, this is just the info I have been looking for. Great site.
May 29, 2017 @ 4:31 pm
Hi Aaron
Thanks for stopping by. Yes, some are quick to take your money and then not tell u things u should now about. Glad u found the article useful and informative. I wish u success in your endeavors. 🙂
Carl