Comments on: Difference between a release and a waiver

By: bilmand

bilmand — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 05:04:42 +0000

As indicated by zipetaa's original question, both terms pertain to whether one party communicates to the other that he will not pursue a potential claim. Though not specifically distinct (their definitions in the well-regonized "Black's Law Dictionary" largely overlap), I believe that in practice they are used in different situations. My understanding is that a waiver is used where there exists a legally recognizable basis for one person to assert a claim against another, but one has not yet exercised his power to make the claim and seeks to communicate to the other that one will not in the future exercise that power. On the other hand, a release is used where one has already exercised one's power to make the claim, but seeks to liberate the other from the claim already asserted. Surely this doesn't cover the entire scope of the topic, but hopefully sheds some light on the distinction.

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By: porsche

porsche — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 20:25:49 +0000

Very interesting, anon. You may be right. Just as you suspected, Emil's document says: "I waive the right...", not "I release the right..." Later on, it says: "I...release...the Department of Labor from all claims...", also consistent wth your comments.

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By: Emil

Emil — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 22:26:37 +0000

I looked at a couple of sample release forms for photographers I found on the Web, and most seem to give permission to take a photo, and also allow for the use, duplication and/or distribute the photo without a fee being imposed by the person whose image or photograph is used.

Here’s a link to one of the samples:
http://www.eed.state.ak.us/aksca/pdf/photo_release_form_sample.pdf

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By: anon

anon — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 22:03:42 +0000

I'm curious. If you sign a release before appearing in front of a camera, are you releasing your rights to the image or are you actually releasing the producer, photographer, etc. from their responsibility to compensate you for the use of the image? I wonder if you don't often see "...release my rights to...", but are more likely to see "...release [insert name here] from..." How are these documents usually worded?

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By: porsche

porsche — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 21:53:36 +0000

I'm no lawyer either, but several sources define them similarly. In at least one case (irrelevant to your example), there may be a difference. Permission to deviate from some rule may also be referred to as a waiver. I don't think such permission would normally be referred to as a release. Release literally means to let go. Waive is more like "put aside".

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By: scyllacat

scyllacat — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 20:09:18 +0000

Agreed. This is not a grammar issue. Grammatically, "waive" works fine. In fact, I prefer it to "release." I'm sorry to have published this comment without adding content. :)

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By: Emil

Emil — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 02:35:56 +0000

I'm not a lawyer either, but my gut feeling on this one is that the AAA's family would sign a waiver, which would release the hospital from any liability. To make matters more confusing, AAA's parents could sign a release, waiving their right to take legal action.

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By: Steve

Steve — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 07:14:23 +0000

I agree that this is probably a legal issue, but I would use ''waive''. ''Release'' implies that they are giving the rights to the hospital or another entity, while ''waive'' implies that they are forfeiting the rights. It seems to me like the word ''release'' may be used to confuse the person signing the document.

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By: dyske

dyske — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 10:24:23 +0000

I think this is a legal issue (which term should be used for which situations), so only lawyers could answer this properly, but here is my own sense of the difference. I think the difference becomes clearer if you use "the right". "Release the right" would means that you are handing over your right to someone else. For instance, if you sign a release before appearing in front of a camera, you are not only giving up your right, but also transferring the right to the photographer. The photographer has the right to use your image. "Waive the right" would simply mean that you are giving up the right, but not transferring it, like waiving the right to sue someone. (In this case, it's not transferable anyway.) But "release" might also be appropriate for situations that do not involve transferring of rights. If so, the two terms are interchangeable. But again, I'm not a lawyer, so I don't know how these terms are used in the legal world. In the end, that's what matters.

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