Q: What clauses must my program terms actually include?

Your terms are the contract every partner agrees to, and vague terms cost you in disputes. Cover these, in plain language:

— Valid sale definition: what attributes, last-click or otherwise, and what voids a commission.
— Reversal policy: refunds, chargebacks, and fraud all reverse the commission; say so explicitly.
— Prohibited methods: trademark bidding, coupon-injection, incentivized clicks, email spam, name them.
— Cookie window and attribution model: the exact number of days and which touch wins.
— Payout terms: threshold, schedule, hold period, and method.
— Termination rights: you can remove a partner and withhold fraudulent earnings.

The caveat: terms you don't enforce are worse than no terms. If you ban brand bidding but never check, partners learn the rules are theater. Pick the clauses you'll actually police and enforce those consistently rather than writing a long document you ignore.

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