Point and Click: the electronic contract

Many times … and in many cases, “Electronic Point-and-Click Contracts” are the equivalent of pen and paper agreements. The advent of “Cyber ​​Monday” has holiday shoppers rushing to their PCs in anticipation of getting, oh yeah, it’s legal, basement buying power over the internet.

The latest phenomenon, launched immediately after “Black Friday”, has the backing and support of merchants, suppliers and the media. In today’s turmoil of economic troubles, I see this as another burden on the general consumer. “Diamonds are a girl’s best friend!” TV commercials electronically exploit this one with a vengeance. “Fella’s, please … they are telling us that we will not score with the ladies, with your partner or with a sexual encounter / experience if you do not buy her a new dormant diamond for Christmas. Car dealers use identical prose with both genders As I recall, children used to be the target of Christmas gifts while adults were second. Most of the children, at least the ones I knew, had no money to spend on anything … least of all. gifts.

But we are bombarded anyway, from all directions, to buy, buy and buy … with no money to buy anything …

Buying power online is the flip side of the proverbial marketing gadget. The “emptor warning” is “click agreements”. This electronic practice is also known as a “shrink wrap arrangement.” This type of contractual arrangement refers to the terms expressed within a box in which the goods are packaged. “Shrink wrap” is a term that describes the plastic covering on a product package, which seals the products inside. What happens is that the party that opens the packaged goods is told that they agree to the terms and they keep whatever is in the box. When a buyer opens a software package, they agree to the terms of the “limited license agreement.”

Numerous technologies allow the signing of electronic documents. These include digital signatures. Many states have laws governing electronic signatures. The problem is that state electronic signature laws are not uniform. The National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws and the American Law Institute enacted the Uniform Electronics Act (UETA) in 1999. This law has been adopted, in part, by more than forty states. A buyer’s failure to object to the terms contained in a shrink-wrapped software package may constitute an acceptance of the terms – “it’s yours … you opened it, keep it” – by conduct. This responsibility is supported and enforceable, according to section 2 of the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC), the law governing sales contracts states that any contract for the sale of goods “may be entered into in any manner sufficient to demonstrate ( agreement of / for terms offered) agreement, including the conduct of both parties that acknowledges the existence of a specific contract. “

Bidders, suppliers, merchants and / or sellers doing business over the Internet can protect themselves against contractual disputes and legal liability by creating offers that clearly spell out the terms that will govern their transactions. In case bids are accepted, important terms should always (or not) be visible and easy to see by online shoppers.

In virtually all areas of law, the use of the Internet for business activities has raised new legal questions or, more often, new variations on old questions. With regard to jurisdictions, this is certainly true, and it is cited in The Fundamentals of Business Law, written by Roger Leroy Miller and Gaylord A. Jentz. “The court is reaching some consensus regarding the commerce cases before the courts that do not really fit into the categories and rules that the jurisprudence is developing.” This item is the commerce clause in and of the Interstate Commerce Regulations, “Pro Tempore” (for now).

An “electronic contract” is a contract that is formed electronically. “Electronic money” are prepaid funds recorded on a computer or on a card (such as a smart card or stored value card, gift card). A “Contract of Destination” is a contract for the sale of goods in which the seller is obliged or authorized to ship the goods through a carrier and deliver them to a particular destination. The seller assumes responsibility for any loss or damage to the goods until they are delivered to the destination specified in the contract, under the auspices of Commercial Law in the Online World of Contracts and Web Jurisdiction.

If a party (one or more persons or entity) encounters contractual difficulties or disputes, there are legal steps available to launch a challenge. Anyone who is a party to a lawsuit has the opportunity to defend the case before a court of first instance and then before a court of appeal, if he loses (before at least one level of the court of appeal), as cited in the statutes of commercial law. . In addition, a statement alleging the facts necessary for the court to have jurisdiction: a brief summary of the facts necessary to show that the plaintiff is entitled to a remedy and a statement of the remedy sought by the plaintiff. In most cases, the defendant or defense attorney will file a motion for “Expost Facto” (a statute of limitations or motion to expunge). But the complaint and / or argument remains – “Resipsa Loquitur” (the facts speak for themselves).

In general, the complaint and response (and counterclaim and response) taken together are called pleadings. The pleadings inform each party of the other party’s claims and specify the issues or disputed issues involved in the case.

So when you rush to the PC to order that new stereo, television, camera, cell phone, kindle, Mitsubishi SUV, lap top, or garter belt … remember, “Let the buyer beware!”

You could end up in court and still have no money.

Until next time.

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