Skip to Main Content
Services Talent Knowledge
Site Search
Menu

News

January 17, 2024

Unpredictable: "Beyond Ink: Navigating the New Age of Contracts"

Charles Nerko, team leader for data security litigation in Barclay Damon’s Data Security & Technology Practice Area, wrote “Beyond Ink: Navigating the New Age of Contracts” for the Unpredictable blog. As contracts evolve from their traditional ink-and-paper roots, businesses should consider how this impacts their bottom line.

The article highlights cases where businesses faced significant legal repercussions due to seemingly innocuous actions that courts have found to result in binding contracts. For instance, a thumbs-up emoji was interpreted as a digital signature, binding a business to a significant financial obligation. Another example is dozens of businesses facing multimillion-dollar copyright infringement lawsuits based on their employees sharing newsletter articles among themselves, a practice prohibited by a publisher’s terms of use.

Charles’s article aptly advises, “Tread carefully and give appropriate legal review to potential agreements to fend off unwanted costs and risks. As business is increasingly conducted electronically, the need to understand and navigate this new terrain of contract formation is more important than ever.”

Read the article here.
 

Subscribe

Click here to sign up for alerts, blog posts, and firm news.

Featured Media

Alerts

Key Affordable-Housing Provisions in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act

Alerts

What the One Big Beautiful Bill Act Means for Clean-Energy Tax Credits

Alerts

One Big Beautiful Bill Act Changes Tax Incentives for Charitable Giving

Alerts

Website Accessibility Lawsuits: Several "Tester" Plaintiffs—Wislande Claude, Felipe Fernandez, Howard Wilson, Lisa Cantwell, and Erika Alexandria—Targeting Businesses in Recent Flurry of Lawsuits

Alerts

NYS Appellate Court Holds Family Members Are Not Bound by Arbitration Agreement Signed by Deceased Relative

Alerts

Website Accessibility Lawsuits: Several "Tester" Plaintiffs—Milagros Senior, Sylinia Jackson, Edery Herrera, Henry Tucker, and Carlton Knowles—Targeting Businesses in Recent Flurry of Lawsuits