e2001, Venice, October 2001Dr. Tarek Hassan, Loughborough University 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

e2001, Venice, October 2001Dr. Tarek Hassan, Loughborough University 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

e2001, Venice, October 2001Dr. Tarek Hassan, Loughborough University eLEGAL Scope

e2001, Venice, October 2001Dr. Tarek Hassan, Loughborough University Examples of Potential Legal Problems Proof of receipt of electronic data Ownership of information Access rights Company Vs project information Handling object based information

e2001, Venice, October 2001Dr. Tarek Hassan, Loughborough University eLEGAL Goal “To define a framework for legal conditions and contracts regarding the use of ICT in project business”.

e2001, Venice, October 2001Dr. Tarek Hassan, Loughborough University eLEGAL Objectives (1) User requirements for legal support methods and tools Legal basis for contracts on ICT Develop tools for contract negotiation and authoring

e2001, Venice, October 2001Dr. Tarek Hassan, Loughborough University 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

e2001, Venice, October 2001Dr. Tarek Hassan, Loughborough University eLEGAL Applications Suite

e2001, Venice, October 2001Dr. Tarek Hassan, Loughborough University eLEGAL Partners Loughborough University, Co-ordinator,UK MASONS (Law Firm)UK Ponton Software TechnologyDE SEIB-ITCDE OTT Lawyer & EngineerDE VTT Building TechnologyFI FORTUM Engineering (end users)FI ENeF (Internet contracting)FI Geodeco (end users)IT

e2001, Venice, October 2001Dr. Tarek Hassan, Loughborough University 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

e2001, Venice, October 2001Dr. Tarek Hassan, Loughborough University 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

e2001, Venice, October 2001Dr. Tarek Hassan, Loughborough University 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

e2001, Venice, October 2001Dr. Tarek Hassan, Loughborough University 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

e2001, Venice, October 2001Dr. Tarek Hassan, Loughborough University 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

e2001, Venice, October 2001Dr. Tarek Hassan, Loughborough University Benefits for the industry Pure financial terms; Quality of information; and Access to this information.

e2001, Venice, October 2001Dr. Tarek Hassan, Loughborough University Scenario: Application Contractually stipulated project application of ; Full recognition within the ICT contract; Supported by appropriate archiving techniques; and Used by all project team members

e2001, Venice, October 2001Dr. Tarek Hassan, Loughborough University Scenario: 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

e2001, Venice, October 2001Dr. Tarek Hassan, Loughborough University 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

e2001, Venice, October 2001Dr. Tarek Hassan, Loughborough University 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

e2001, Venice, October 2001Dr. Tarek Hassan, Loughborough University Thank you! Further information from the eLEGAL web site: elegal.vtt.fi