CONSUMER DOCUMENTS
What is a consumer document?
A consumer document is paperwork given to buyers, users or the general public to specify agreements, rights and/or responsibilities.
Warranties, contracts, product safety instructions, credit reports, loan agreements and health care plan explanations of benefits are all considered consumer documents.
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| This coupon, is a consumer document. |
The general purpose of the consumer document is to communicate information, whether it's to tell a customer how to safely assemble a piece of furniture or to spell out which medical services are covered by an insurance company. By communicating this information via a consumer document, the business entity or institution may also be fulfilling certain regulatory requirements while gaining a legal foothold on the consumer. For example, mortgage loan documents explain the details of prepayment penalties and late fees; this communicates to the consumer what is required of him while establishing a legal recourse for what the financial institution can charge if terms of the agreement are not met in a timely manner.
Types of consumer documents
An advertisement is any form of communication that is used to peddle or promote a product, service or even an opinion. We are bombarded with advertisements that are everywhere: we cannot watch TV without seeing advertisements (commercials), or drive down the highway (billboards), or open a newspaper or magazine (print ads), or listen to the radio (voice ads), and now even on the Internet (online/pop-up ads). You can also consider promotional items to be advertisements.
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Example of billboard advertisement.
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Written contract under which the owner of a copyright, know how, patent, servicemark, trademark, or other intellectual property, allows a licensee to use, make, or sell copies of the original. Such agreements usually limit the scope or field of the licensee, and specify whether the license is exclusive or non-exclusive, and whether the licensee will pay royalties or some other consideration in exchange. While licensing agreements are mainly used in commercialization of a technology, they are also used by franchisers to promote sales of goods and services.
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| Example of license agreement. |
