[ebBP] 11/4/2004: Comments on HasLegal Intent

["Monica J. Martin" <Monica.Martin@Sun.COM>]

I've received a few comments and provided an updated version below. In 
addition, there are three terms specified in the referenced paper that I 
believe are helpful to understand 'intent'. [1] Thank you.

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"This optional HasLegalIntent attribute can represents a statement or 
commitment between trading partners, and their shared intent. As 
referenced in the eCommerce Patterns v1.0, more than the digital 
signature is needed to infer intent [1]. This constraint exists on a 
Business Transaction Activity. This constraint could represent a 
substantive and enforceable precondition on the BTA. The mechanisms in 
the BSI that provide the capability to support this precondition are:
a. reliability
b. document security: confidential, tamper detectable and authenticated
c. nonrepudiation
d. authorization
e. document integrity

The contractual framework, agreements and their application to any 
artifact are outside of this specification.

hasLegalIntent could have widely differing interpretations and 
enforceability depending on type of business, process, and jurisdiction. 
No implication of interpretation or enforcability is made by the ebBP 
committee.

Reference eCommerce Patterns, v1.0, May 2001, 
http://www.ebxml.org/specs/bpPATT.pdf.
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Original reference: 
http://www.oasis-open.org/archives/ebxml-bp/200411/msg00004.html
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[1] Three terms (see reference above).

"Legally Binding – An optional character of a statement or commitment 
exchanged between trading partners (such as an offer or acceptance), set 
by its sender, which indicates that the sender has expressed its intent 
to make the statement or commitment legally enforceable. [ebGLOSS] .......

Nonbinding -- An optional character of a statement or commitment 
exchanged between trading partners (such as an offer or acceptance), set 
by its sender, that indicates the intent to be legally bound. See 
"Legally Binding" above.............

Trading partners may also wish to exchange proposed terms, without 
making an assertion of intent to be legally bound. This is analogous to 
the paper contracting practice of exchanging unsigned drafts or term 
sheets."