The increase in the use of the Internet in business transactions has caused many businesses to question whether contracts or agreements that had been traditionally created on paper can or should now be entered into electronically. As the development of the Internet is new, complicated and unpredictable, so to is the legislative and court created law of electronic contracts.
While only certain types of contracts are required to be written to be legally enforceable in the United States, businesses typically use written contracts to formally establish contract terms and conditions. Absent unusual circumstances, a party that signs a contract is strictly held to each term of the contract. In a typical transaction, each party negotiates the terms of a contract and signs the final version. Each party then retains an identical copy of the final contract. Any dispute regarding the subject of the contract is resolved utilizing and interpreting the terms of the contract. In this typical
