The agreement requires users to indemnify and defend Coursera and its affiliates against third-party claims, including attorneys' fees, arising from the user's platform use, Terms violations, or intellectual property infringement by the user or anyone using the user's account. This obligation extends to infringement caused by other users operating under the same account.
This analysis describes what Coursera's agreement states, permits, or reserves. It does not constitute a legal determination about enforceability. Regulatory applicability and practical outcomes may vary by jurisdiction, enforcement context, and individual circumstances. Read our methodology
This provision creates a personal financial obligation for users to cover Coursera's legal costs and damages in third-party claims connected to the user's account activity, including actions by others who access the account. The extension of liability to third parties using the same account is operationally significant for shared or institutional account contexts.
Interpretive note: Enforceability of consumer-facing indemnification clauses of this breadth may vary by jurisdiction, particularly in EU/EEA markets under unfair contract terms frameworks.
The updated terms remove the explicit guarantee that Coursera provides a 7-day free trial for subscriptions. The revised language states that 'certain subscriptions may come with a free trial period' without specifying a default duration or which subscriptions include trials. This creates operational uncertainty for users: trial availability and length are no longer stated in the main terms but are now delegated entirely to individual checkout pages. Users evaluating whether a subscription includes a trial must now visit the specific product page rather than relying on the standard terms.
View change record →New provision shifts legal and financial burden to users to defend Coursera against third-party claims arising from user conduct or account-holder infringements.
View full change record →Under this clause, users are financially responsible for defending Coursera against third-party claims arising from their account activity, including claims resulting from another person's use of the user's account credentials. This obligation includes coverage of attorneys' fees incurred by Coursera.
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"You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Coursera, its affiliates, officers, directors, employees, suppliers, consultants, and agents from any and all third-party claims, liability, damages, and/or costs (including, but not limited to, attorneys' fees) arising from your use of our Services, your violation of these Terms of Use, or your infringement, or infringement by any other user of your account, of any intellectual property or other right of any person or entity.— Excerpt from Coursera's Coursera Terms of Use
REGULATORY LANDSCAPE: Broad consumer indemnification clauses may require evaluation under applicable consumer protection law. In EU/EEA jurisdictions, consumer indemnification obligations of this scope may face enforceability constraints under unfair contract terms directives. The FTC Act may be implicated if the scope of the indemnification is not clearly disclosed. GOVERNANCE EXPOSURE: Medium. The inclusion of third-party users of the same account within the scope of the indemnification obligation is notable for institutional deployments where multiple employees may access a shared or managed account. JURISDICTION FLAGS: EU/EEA consumer contract law, including Council Directive 93/13/EEC on unfair terms in consumer contracts, may limit the enforceability of this indemnification against individual consumers. California and other US states may also have consumer-facing limitations on indemnification scope. CONTRACT AND VENDOR IMPLICATIONS: Enterprise agreements should address whether the individual user indemnification clause applies to organizational accounts and whether indemnification obligations are reallocated between Coursera and the contracting institution. COMPLIANCE CONSIDERATIONS: Legal teams should assess whether this indemnification clause is adequately disclosed to employees or students enrolling through institutional accounts, and whether separate enterprise terms modify or limit its application.
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This provision creates a personal financial obligation for users to cover Coursera's legal costs and damages in third-party claims connected to the user's account activity, including actions by others who access the account. The extension of liability to third parties using the same account is operationally significant for shared or institutional account contexts.
Under this clause, users are financially responsible for defending Coursera against third-party claims arising from their account activity, including claims resulting from another person's use of the user's account credentials. This obligation includes coverage of attorneys' fees incurred by Coursera.
ConductAtlas has identified this type of provision across 83 platforms. See the full comparison.
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