Waiver

A waiver clause states that a party's failure to enforce a contract right on one occasion does not waive that right going forward. Without a waiver clause, courts in some jurisdictions can find that a party has implicitly waived a right ("course of dealing") by repeatedly tolerating a breach. The clause should specify that waivers must be in writing and signed by the waiving party to be effective, and that a one-time waiver does not waive any other or future breach. Athletes should pay attention to waiver provisions because a brand that has been late on royalty payments for six months can use a course-of-dealing argument to claim the athlete waived strict payment timing — the waiver clause is the safeguard that prevents this.