Book Description

Although negotiation still lies at the heart of international commercial agreements, much of the detail has migrated to the Internet and has become part of electronic commerce. This incomparable one-volume work??now in its sixth edition??with its deeply informed emphasis on both the face-to-face and electronic components of setting up and performing an international commercial agreement, stands alone among contract drafting guides and has proven its enduring worth. Following its established highly practical format, the book’s much-appreciated precise information on a wide variety of issues??including those pertaining to intellectual property, alternative dispute resolution, and regional differences??is of course still here in this new edition. There is new and updated material on such matters as the following: • the need for contract drafters to understand and to use the concepts of “standardization” (i.e., the work of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) as a contract drafting tool); • new developments and technical progress in e-commerce; • new developments in artificial intelligence in contract drafting; • the possible use of electronic currencies such as Bitcoin as a payment device; • foreign direct investment; • special considerations inherent in drafting licensing agreements; • online dispute resolution including the innovations referred to as the “robot” arbitrator; • changes in the arbitration rules of major international organizations; and • assessment of possible future trends in international commercial arrangements. Each chapter provides numerous references to additional sources, including a large number of websites. Materials from and citations to appropriate literature in languages other than English are also included. In its recognition that a business executive entering into an international commercial transaction is mainly interested in drafting an agreement that satisfies all of the parties and that will be performed as promised, this superb guide will immeasurably assist any lawyer or business executive to plan and carry out individual transactions even when that person is not interested in a full-blown understanding of the entire landscape of international contracts. Business executives who are not lawyers will find that this book gives them the understanding and perspective necessary to work effectively with the legal experts.