Affiliate agreements and contracts
A affiliate agreement or contract is a legal agreement under which a website operator will (directly or indirectly) pay to another person (usually also a website operator) a commission or other fee in respect of users referred by that other person.
A typical affiliate agreement would involve a website operator placing links on his or her website to an e-commerce website, and receiving commission on sales on that e-commerce site arising out of visitors who found the e-commerce site via those links.
The majority of affiliate arrangements are mediated by affiliate networks, who bring together large numbers of affiliates and merchants, provide the software to track purchases, and process the payment of commission.
Do you need a formal agreement?
If you are entering into an affiliate scheme through one of the major affiliate networks, you will be subject to their contractual documentation (which will usually be non-negotiable, unless you are a big customer).
If you are setting up your own scheme, then it should be set out in a formal legal document. This will make clear the rights and obligations of the parties, and reduce the chances of a dispute.
Drafting issues and affiliate agreements
Common issues to consider when drafting an affiliate agreement are:
- the trigger giving rise to the payment obligation;
- content standards of the website hosting the affiliate links;
- trade mark licensing;
- the calculation of commission;
- the payment procedure (this may be through a self-billing arragment); and
- rights to terminate and the consequences of termination.
Template contracts
If you are simply looking for a template document, please visit our website at Website-contracts.co.uk - where you can purchase and download ready-made affiliate agreement templates.
Our services: affiliate contracts
We have expertise in the drafting of affiliate contracts and agreements. You can get a general idea of the fees we charge by looking at the left-hand column. If you would like a definite quote, please either call us on +44 (0)1491 834695 or complete the form below (and we will contact you).
