This unique one-volume monograph offers commentary on the contract law of twenty key jurisdictions as it applies to online business. The text provides legal counsel and businesspeople with practical information about electronic transactions and contract formation, as well as a description of the country's general legal framework and an overview of the country's scheme of online business regulation. Features in-depth analysis of key practice issues - General principles of contract law - E-commerce legislation in force - Electronic transactions - Effective formation of online contracts (e-contracts) - When and how an offer is made to create an online contract - When and where an online contract is formed - Shrinkwrap and clickwrap issues - Digital signatures - Evidentiary issues - "Self-help" issues - Special provisions to include in online contracts - Legislation governing online contracts In addition to the country coverage, Online Contract Formation includes a wealth of supplementary material: sample agreements and forms, topical contract-related commentary, and source documents. Sample Forms/Agreements, including: - Checklist including tips on how to make your online agreement more enforceable - Sample click-through agreement for purchasing goods over the Internet - Sample clauses for arbitration agreements with respect to both consumer and commercial transactions - Sample terms and conditions for a website - Website development agreement - Links agreement Sample commentary, including: - Glossary of online business terms - Jurisdictional Issues in International E-Commerce Contracts - Effective Formation of Contracts by Electronic Means, and Dispute Resolution in the New E-conomy: Still More Questions than Answers Key sources/documents include: - (US) Electronic Signatures Act (ESIGA) - Uniform Electronic Commerce Act (Canada) - Canada's Uniform Law Conference of Canada Uniform Electronic Commerce Act - UNCITRAL Draft Uniform Rules on Electronic Signatures.

Master's Thesis from the year 2008 in the subject Law - Comparative Legal Systems, Comparative Law, grade: 72 % - Distinction , Bournemouth University (Law Academic Department), language: English, abstract: Approximately eight years ago, an electronic invention called the Internet has initiated a phenomenon of exuberant fascination and economic upturn of individuals and businesses at the same time. The steady increasing amount of online users presents a beneficial medium through which commercial entities can advertise and sell their commodities without mentionable delay. Potential consumers have borderless access to products at competitive prices independent of regional distances. Consequently, it is simply to ask the question "How do people contract over the Internet and are the familiar Common Law principles applicable?" This question is in particular in such an extent controversial and important to resolve, since there is no English court which has dealt with this subject so far. As the traditional contract law has been developed and modified due to new and unfamiliar communication means over centuries, it may be that the existing principles are hardly applicable and insufficient to determine the formation of an electronic contract. Though, it is also imaginable that courts may easily alter the contract law rules to an appropriate extent as they already did with other communication methods. This dissertation is concerned with the demanding topic of formation of contracts in the area of electronic commerce. It tackles legal issues in an environment of various forms of commercial and non-commercial activities using electronic means. As the fields of electronic commerce and practicing business online are constantly increasing all over the globe, legal issues of complex content are steadily challenging traditional law principles, courts, lawyers and legal scholars to develop governing laws and adequate solutions. The dissertation faces and investigates how existing concepts of contract law may apply to cyberspace in a variety of contractual situations and which kind of issues may occur. Hence, the dissertation endeavours to provide contributions in order to clarify imaginable e-commerce conflicts and discloses possible solutions to dispel existing uncertainties of e-commerce users. In order to determine why certain sectors of electronic commerce comprise a multitude of interesting and challenging aspects for every legal practitioner and every person operating online, it is necessary and expedient to provide a comprehensive overview of the broad field of e-commerce and to what extent the dissertation investigates present issues.

Master's Thesis from the year 2008 in the subject Law - Comparative Legal Systems, Comparative Law, grade: 72 % - Distinction, Bournemouth University (Law Academic Department), language: English, abstract: Approximately eight years ago, an electronic invention called the Internet has initiated a phenomenon of exuberant fascination and economic upturn of individuals and businesses at the same time. The steady increasing amount of online users presents a beneficial medium through which commercial entities can advertise and sell their commodities without mentionable delay. Potential consumers have borderless access to products at competitive prices independent of regional distances. Consequently, it is simply to ask the question "How do people contract over the Internet and are the familiar Common Law principles applicable?" This question is in particular in such an extent controversial and important to resolve, since there is no English court which has dealt with this subject so far. As the traditional contract law has been developed and modified due to new and unfamiliar communication means over centuries, it may be that the existing principles are hardly applicable and insufficient to determine the formation of an electronic contract. Though, it is also imaginable that courts may easily alter the contract law rules to an appropriate extent as they already did with other communication methods. This dissertation is concerned with the demanding topic of formation of contracts in the area of electronic commerce. It tackles legal issues in an environment of various forms of commercial and non-commercial activities using electronic means. As the fields of electronic commerce and practicing business online are constantly increasing all over the globe, legal issues of complex content are steadily challenging traditional law principles, courts, lawyers and legal scholars to develop governing laws and adequate solutions. The dissertation faces and investigates how existi

If one mentions online contract formation students and academics intuitively turn to the legal rules. This interpretive community seems less than convinced that the distinctive features of the virtual environment have new insights to offer. Whether that is likely to be the case cannot be ascertained if we continue to map our understanding of online contract formation in accordance with the textbook tradition of contract law. An illustration of this pattern of analysis can be seen by the way that discussion and analysis of online contract formation frequently focuses on two issues: first, the applicability of contract principles and, second, the shortcomings of the Electronic Commerce (EC Directive) Regulations 2002. A consideration of the value of consent and of its role in contract formation and operative factors, with regard to the way in which obligations are characterized, suggests that the overemphasis on the process/method distinction is misleading. The paper demonstrates the following: (a) that, to the extent that the rules of contract formation are relevant, they provide a preliminary and not a final point of understanding; (b) that the dominant role of computers in structuring and processing communications makes it critical to identify the values embedded in the technological infrastructure; and (c) that the narrative of values in the technological infrastructure provides a better route to understanding online contract formation. Illustrations are provided to support the hypothesis. The layer principle, it is suggested, provides an appropriate basis for reconciling contract doctrine with the central role of the Electronic Commerce (EC Directive) Regulations 2002. The paper concludes that attempts to understand the governance challenges for online contract formation through legal rules are misplaced. To understand the contemporary role of contract we need to integrate the communications systems of hardware and software into our understanding of what it is that gives commitments their binding character.

The product of a unique collaboration between academic scholars, legal practitioners, and technology experts, this Handbook is the first of its kind to analyze the ongoing evolution of smart contracts, based upon blockchain technology, from the perspective of existing legal frameworks - namely, contract law. The book's coverage ranges across many areas of smart contracts and electronic or digital platforms to illuminate the impact of new, and often disruptive, technologies on the law. With a mix of scholarly commentary and practical application, chapter authors provide expert insights on the core issues involving the use of smart contracts, concluding that smart contracts cannot supplant contract law and the courts, but leaving open the question of whether there is a need for specialized regulations to prevent abuse. This book should be read by anyone interested in the disruptive effect of new technologies on the law generally, and contract law in particular.