Prompt

Prompt for Claude Code: add a no-copying clause, a terms checkbox and a footer link

The short version

Open your project in Claude Code or Cursor and paste the prompt below. It adds a no-copying clause to your terms, an unticked "I accept the terms" box at sign-up that is checked on the server and recorded, and a terms link in the footer. It is a template, not legal advice: show the result to a lawyer.

By Wlad Kowalski and the Mellow team · Updated November 4, 2026, sources read November 3, 2026

How to use it

Open your project folder in Claude Code or Cursor.
Copy the prompt below and paste all of it. It works in three steps and shows what it changed after each one.
Read the changes line by line, especially the sign-up form and the record of who accepted the terms on the server.
Fill in your service name, owner and date. Show the result to a lawyer.

Prompt: clause, checkbox and footer link

Protect my project from copying with three changes. Do them in order and briefly show what you changed after each one. Do not delete or rewrite legal text that already exists without asking me.

0. Look first: the stack, the sign-up forms, the footer, and the terms page (terms, terms of service, legal). Write the clause in every language the site has.

1. The clause in the terms. Add a section "[Service] may not be copied", with the service name taken from the project. In short: the service, its code, interface, design, text and features belong to the owner; users get a limited, non-exclusive license to use it for its intended purpose. Without the owner's written consent they may not: copy or recreate the service, including with AI agents or website-cloning tools; build derivative products from it; sell or give third parties access to the service or an account; collect its data by automated means (bots, scraping) other than the official API; or decompile it, except where the law expressly allows it. Keep one exception: search engines and AI assistants may read and cite public pages as robots.txt allows. Breaking the section is grounds to restrict access and to claim damages as the law allows. End it with the date of this edition.

2. The checkbox at sign-up. Add an unticked "I accept the terms" box, linked to the terms page, to every sign-up form. Sign-up does not go through without it: disable the button and check it again on the server. On the server store who accepted: user id, time and the terms edition date. Add a database migration if needed. For sign-in with Google or Apple, show the same box before the first account is created.

3. The footer link. Add "Terms" to the footer that renders on every page.

At the end run the tests and the linter, list the files you changed, and tell me what I must fill in myself: service name, owner, date. This is a template, not legal advice: I will show the result to a lawyer.

Paste it into Claude Code or Cursor opened in your project folder: the tool reads the code itself.

The three steps and why each

The clause. Copyright protects code, text and design without any contract, but never an idea, procedure or method of operation (17 U.S.C. § 102(b)). The clause adds a contract: against someone who accepted your terms you can restrict access, send a demand and claim damages.
The checkbox and the record. An explicit tick plus a record of who accepted which edition, and when, helps show that the person saw the terms. In Berman v. Freedom Financial Network (9th Cir. 2022) the court looked for conspicuous notice and an action that unambiguously manifests assent, such as clicking a button or checking a box.
The footer link. The terms should be in view on every page, not only at the moment of sign-up.

The clause without the prompt

If you do not need the prompt, here is the clause itself: fill in the brackets.

Clause for your terms, English

[Service] may not be copied. [Service], its code, interface, design, text and features belong to [Owner]. Users get a limited, non-exclusive license to use it for its intended purpose, with no right to sublicense. Without our written consent you may not: (1) copy, reproduce or recreate the service, its interface, design, text or features, including with AI agents, skills or website-cloning tools; (2) build derivative products from them; (3) sell, resell or give third parties access to the service or an account; (4) collect the service's data by automated means (bots, scraping, crawling) other than the official API; search engines and AI assistants may read and cite public pages as robots.txt allows; (5) decompile the service or extract its source code, except where the law expressly allows it. Breaking this section is grounds to restrict or close access and to claim damages as the law allows. Last updated [date].

Replace the brackets: service name, owner, date.

What the clause does not do

It does not stop anyone from technically copying a public page: it works through a contract, not through copy protection.
It binds only people who accepted it. In Meta v. Bright Data (2024) the court held that Meta's terms did not apply to logged-off scraping of publicly viewable data: people who never accepted them are not bound.
It does not protect an idea. Copyright covers the specific code, text and design, not a feature as an idea.

A live example

Mellow's own terms carry such a clause: the section "Mellow may not be copied" (Mellow's terms). The cloning tool the reel is about asks its users to check a site's terms first, in the Not Intended For section of its README.

Questions people also ask

Will a clause stop people who clone a site with an AI tool?

Not technically: a public page can be copied. The clause gives you a contract claim against people who accepted your terms: restrict access, send a demand, claim damages. It does not reach someone who never accepted them.

Why a checkbox and not a line saying "by continuing you accept"?

An explicit action is easier to show than an implied one. In Berman v. Freedom Financial Network (9th Cir. 2022) the court looked for conspicuous notice and an action that unambiguously manifests assent, such as clicking a button or checking a box. A tick with a record of it leaves something you can produce.

What does copyright protect without any contract, and what does it not?

Code, text and design are protected by copyright without a contract. An idea, procedure, process, system or method of operation is not (17 U.S.C. § 102(b)). That is why copying a feature can slip past copyright, and a contract with your users adds a basis.

Why is there an exception for search engines and AI assistants?

Without it the clause would also forbid what makes your site findable in search and in AI answers: they read public pages. The exception keeps that, as robots.txt allows.

Does the prompt work in tools other than Claude Code?

It is plain text, so you can paste it into any AI tool that works on a project folder. How each one carries it out I did not test: read the changes line by line and run the project's tests.

Does this replace a lawyer?

No. The clause and the prompt are a template. Which wording fits your service and your country is for a lawyer to decide.

Sources

Other companies’ features and prices change. Every statement about them rests on these pages, as they read on the date above.