08-07-2007, 10:21 AM
Quote:Even this far into the digital age, one vital part of business remains stubbornly analog: the legal contract. Almost every corporate obligation and partnership requires reams of paper and at least a couple of lawyers. Internet-based, do-it-yourself contracts tend to be relegated to the level of eBay sales - and even they are notoriously difficult to enforce if something goes awry.
Now a Spanish startup called Negonation hopes to raise the profile of the online contract - and disrupt the entire legal landscape in the process. In July it launched Tractis, the first Web platform that lets users create, manage, and execute contracts online - no lawyers required. The service is stocked with a database of contract templates from around the world, and its contracts are legally enforceable in the offline world, even if the parties are in different countries.
Tractis, its creators say, is no less than a comprehensive legal system for the Internet nation. "The biggest problem with online contracts now is enforcement," says David Blanco, the Madrid-based CEO of Negonation. "If you reach an agreement with another person and something goes wrong, how do you enforce the contract and in which jurisdiction? How do you know the true identity of someone calling himself snake69 @hotmail.com?"
To solve that kind of problem, Tractis will offer a comprehensive range of trust and verification systems...
full article: http://money.cnn.com/magazines/business2...2007080208