Ambiguity Injection
Vague terms written into an agreement on purpose — 'reasonable efforts', 'industry standard', 'as needed' — so that the drafter can interpret them favourably later, when you have less leverage.
An everyday example
'Support response within a reasonable time' becoming five business days once the contract is signed.
What it can cost you
Signing words that mean one thing to you and another to them; disputes decided by whoever wrote the ambiguity.
Warning signs
- The key terms are adjectives.
- They prefer it vague.
One thing to do
Every undefined term gets a number, a date or a named standard before signature; if they resist defining it, assume the vague version favours them.
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