Diverging Perspectives on Electronic Contracting in the U.S. and EU

Margaret Jane Radin's paper discusses the ways modern technologies have prompted new thinking within and about property, and the way the legal response has failed to take sufficiently into account the countervailing considerations that have shaped earlier Property Law developments. Some new technologies have also caused intellectual and practical struggles within Contract Law. This paper will consider some of the developments of Contract Law related to these changes, in particular the transactions relating to the sale, leasing or free use of computer software and the purchase of computers. Part I of this paper introduces the topic and offers an overview of how American Contract Law has responded to the issues raised.

Part II then looks at the distinctly different approach of the European Union.