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eLEGAL: Dismantling the Legal Barriers to ICT Up-Take in Virtual Enterprises

eLEGAL: Dismantling the Legal Barriers to ICT Up-Take in Virtual Enterprises. Tarek M Hassan, Chris Carter Loughborough University, UK Clive Seddon Masons Solicitors, UK Mauro Mangini Geodeco S.p.A., Italy. The Problem. Lack of solid contractual basis

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eLEGAL: Dismantling the Legal Barriers to ICT Up-Take in Virtual Enterprises

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  1. eLEGAL: Dismantling the Legal Barriers to ICT Up-Take in Virtual Enterprises Tarek M Hassan, Chris Carter Loughborough University, UK Clive Seddon Masons Solicitors, UK Mauro Mangini Geodeco S.p.A., Italy

  2. The Problem • Lack of solid contractual basis • Mistrust between parties for the exclusive use of ICT • Duplication of work • ICT an extra cost - rather than an enabler • SMEs - costly legal disputes

  3. eLEGAL Scope

  4. Examples of Potential Legal Problems • Proof of receipt of electronic data • Ownership of information • Access rights • Company Vs project information • Handling object based information

  5. eLEGAL Goal “To define a framework for legal conditions and contracts regarding the use of ICT in project business”.

  6. eLEGAL Objectives (1) • User requirements for legal support methods and tools • Legal basis for contracts on ICT • Develop tools for contract negotiation and authoring

  7. eLEGAL Objectives (2) • Implement legal support tools • Promote enhanced business practice • Use of ICT in inter-enterprise information exchange is contractually stipulated • Test and validate results • Promote deployment

  8. eLEGAL Applications Suite

  9. eLEGAL Partners • Loughborough University, Co-ordinator, UK • MASONS (Law Firm) UK • Ponton Software Technology DE • SEIB-ITC DE • OTT Lawyer & Engineer DE • VTT Building Technology FI • FORTUM Engineering (end users) FI • ENeF (Internet contracting) FI • Geodeco (end users) IT

  10. eLEGAL Approach (1/2) • User requirements: • State-of-the-art assessment of current contractual practices and ICT support • Legal development: • Library of clauses • Contract configuration logic • Model contracts • Legal issues of AEC objects

  11. eLEGAL Approach (2/2) • Tool Development • Specification of tools • Tool for defining the ICT Environment • Contract configuration and negotiation tool • Help desk • Validation, simulation and recommendations • Simulation and testing • Industry reference group • Guidelines and migration strategy • Contributions to standardisation

  12. Key Results • User requirements for legal support in construction projects • Library of re-usable clauses and model contracts • Contract configuration and negotiation tools • Simulated contract negotiation game • Recommendations to standardisation bodies

  13. Main Initial Findings • Current contractual practice preserves the traditional methods for achieving legal admissibility in business • Very few references to ICT's in existing contracts • Use of ASPs should be governed by contracts covering 'Service Level Agreements', Licencing Agreements & IPRs

  14. Main Initial Findings (2) • aecXML is becoming the transport mechanism by which much of the construction industry's information can flow seamlessly between all of the ICT tools, including online contracting • Security is a major cocern, however, this may be overcome by using: • Smart cards • Biometric systems • Certification authorities • Digital signatures • Digital Notaries

  15. Benefits for the industry • Pure financial terms; • Quality of information; and • Access to this information.

  16. Scenario: Email Application • Contractually stipulated project application of email; • Full recognition within the ICT contract; • Supported by appropriate archiving techniques; and • Used by all project team members

  17. Scenario: Email Benefits Impacts • Considerable volumes of paper removed; • No longer creating 6 or 8 copies of hundreds of clients instructions; Further extended to multitude of: • Contractor and sub-contractor valuations • Contractor and sub-contractor and payments

  18. Scenario: O&M Manuals Benefits arising from electronic operation and maintenance manuals • ‘live’ data embedded within AEC objects; • Save considerable time and money; • More accurate information provision; • Improve efficiency of project team; and • Remove need for container loads of paper

  19. Socio-economic Impacts of eLEGAL • Lower barriers and risk for SMEs to join VEs and hence more business opportunities • Increased trust and confidence • Development of professional skills for legal experts, software developers and end users • Impact on educational systems • Contribution to standardisation • Less waste and more efficient use of natural resources

  20. Thank you! Further information fromthe eLEGAL web site:http:// elegal.vtt.fi eLEGAL@Lboro.ac.uk

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