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Two of the necessary conditions for the formation of a contract are offer and acceptance. Over the years, courts have faced a number of questions as to what, specifically, constitutes offer and acceptance. Issues relate to wording, timing and medium, among others. The advent of electronic communications, and its constant evolution, has opened the door to more grey areas that ultimately need to be resolved with respect to what constitutes offer and acceptance. A number of issues spring to mind -- is a text message sufficient to be deemed "in writing," is the shorthand in which many electronic communications are written valid for the formation of a legal contract, and what about electronic forms, which are essentially a one-way form of a communication? This paper will examine the case law that surrounds the evolving field of electronic communication, and how case law has dealt with modern methods of communication.Application of the Mailbox Rule
The mailbox rule in contract law reflects the idea that a meeting of the minds is achieved when acceptance is communicated to the offeree, when the acceptance enters the postal system. Where instantaneous means of communication are concerned, the mailbox rule applies to everything from faxes to telex machines, and it is the precedent established for these archaic devices that forms the basis of instantaneous communication law today, as pertains to email, texting...
The basic notion is that instantaneous communication is analogous to face-to-face communication (Cameron & Castell, 1997). If there is a break in the communication, both parties would be aware. This abuts reality, however, in that someone's email server could be down, causing a one-sided break in communication that the other party is unaware of. In such situations, the mailbox rule is more applicable.
Authentication
One of the issues that has arisen where electronic communication is concerned is authentication -- how do we know that there has been a meeting of the minds? The courts have typically held that a signature line, even one that is automatically generated, such as would appear at the bottom of an email, is sufficient to established authenticity of a communication, and bind the communicator to their respective offer or acceptance (Speziale, 2013). This applies both to the formation of a contract, and to its modification -- the general rules about both parties meeting minds still hold regardless of the mode of communication.
Specific Cases
Since the mainstreaming of electronic communication, a number of issues have arisen. The area of one-sided communications is of interest. In Specht v. Netscape, it was determined that clicking on a download button did not show assent to license terms if those terms were not conspicuous, establishing that no contract could…
Contract Law In the presented scenario, Brian had been negotiating with Amy for several days without reaching agreement. They finally reached a compromise and agreed that the transaction would proceed. However, it appears as though there was a communication lapse because Amy's bid was higher than Brian's offer, which is unusual in such kind of transactions. Despite these facts, a contract is considered as legally binding if it contains the basic
TWA We tend to think of labor unions as a thing of the past. Not, of course, that workers no longer need protection. But since the beginning of the first Reagan administration, we have become used to workers' rights being chipped - and sometimes hacked - away by the powerful interests of capital. (The same powerful interests, of course, that unions were designed to fight against). The overall percentage of workers
All other issues are derived from this rule. Many of the modern contracts have express conditions, which are explicit contractual provisions that the parties need to abide by. The related elements that this incurs are detailed in the subchapter referring to express conditions. An interesting element of contract performances is those particular contracts that are divisible. In those cases, the parties' performance can be apportioned into pairs of matching
Not all offense levels are entitled to a jury trial and each jurisdiction has its own standard in this regard. As a general rule, however, any offense involving the possibility of incarceration as a sanction is entitled to the benefit of a jury trial. This same standard is applicable, as well, to the right of every defendant to be represented by counsel. In all cases, regardless of the seriousness
As technology and the capability of removing artifacts from recordings improve this area of the law will be likely to be revisited in the future. This last revision to copyright law raised more questions than it answered. For instance, was it acceptable to colorize black and white movies? Did this alter them from the original work, or was this an acceptable? Was it OK to alter pieces of work to
International Sales Contract Ross T. Smyth and Co. Vs. TD Bailey Son & Co [1940] All ER This paper will examine and discuss the specific implications of Lord Wright's statement and how this related to the seller and buyer, specifically in the context of the c.i.f. And f.o.b. contractual meaning. In the historical case Ross T. Smyth and Co Ltd. Vs. TD Bailey, Son & Co. [1940] 3 All ER 60, Lord Wright,