Electronic Signature and Electronic Privacy - Essay Example

Business Law Electronic Signature and Electronic Privacy An electronic signature represents all electronic ways that a person can use to adopt or ascertain ownership of any electronic content. It is mainly used as a normal signature to indicate that the signatory owns the recorded information or openly adopts the intentions that are in the record. A good example of an electronic signature is the ‘I accept’ button that is usually checked before making an online transaction. It acts as proof that the user abides by the principles and guidelines of the site. Electronic privacy implies the legal right to keep personal electronic information safe. Such privacy is protected by law and through electronic means. For example, electronic financial information can be protected through Personal Identification Numbers (PIN). 2. Foreclosure It is a process through which a mortgage lender repossess the property used as collateral for a loan. The lender usually auctions that property or retains ownership rights due to a default by the loaned. The main objective of a foreclosure is to obtain the principle amount and also the accrued interest. The process of foreclosure is legal and sanctioned by court. The borrower is given a specific grace period in which he or she can make payment and avoid foreclosure. An example of a foreclosure is when a person uses a house as collateral for a loan and defaults in payments. The lender then seeks foreclosure by selling the house to obtain the balance and other payments. 3. Franchise, franchisor and franchisee A franchise is a legal right or privilege that is officially accorded to an individual or entity to offer certain goods or services at a specific place and time. The franchise is strictly governed by guidelines that are defined under the agreement. A franchisor is usually a firm or corporation that has the ownership rights to grant franchises. The company analyses various business factors while awarding franchise rights to other entities. A franchisee is an individual or firm that is accorded the rights of a franchise and is thus officially allowed to conduct business under the terms of the franchise. An example to illustrate the terms can be sourced from the MacDonalds fast food franchise. The firm (franchisor) offers licenses or enters into trade agreements (franchises) with various entities (franchisees) around the world to offer products and services under its own name. 4. The board of directors The board of directors is a group of people who are elected to establish corporate management policies and practices in regard to the activities of the company. The board jointly runs the affairs of a company and is tasked with making decisions on major issues such as hiring terms, assessing the work of executives and shareholder dividends. The board of directors is formed by the organizations bylaws and regulated by a higher authority that has no interest in the firm to ensure the rationality of decisions. The activities of the board of directors are guided by the type, size and nature of the organization. For example, a board of directors governing multinational companies and companies trading in stocks have higher responsibilities than boards of local companies. 5. Tort liability Tort liability is the legal obligation of an entity to a victim who suffers injury or wrong due to the actions of a tortfeasor. Tort liability has various categories; Negligence represents a tort that is caused when the duty of care is breached. For Negligence tort to hold, there must be proof that the duty of care was owed. The determination of the duty of care is determined from a reasonable perspective of a non-partisan persons. An example is the death of a patient due to negligence of a doctor. Intentional torts are actions that are intentional and have a high degree of probability of causing harm to a person. Example include false evidence to impose a false imprisonment. Agent liability is a situation where the principle bears the consequences of any tort that is accrued in the activities of his agent. The tort liability lies with the principal if the agent acted within the guidelines of the principal and vice versa. 6. Religious discrimination Title IV of the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) stipulates that it is illegal to consider an employee or a job applicant in a discriminative manner because of his or her religion. Religious discrimination involves treating people differently simply because of religious beliefs. The most common offenses include harassment, hardships, and firing. An example is that a person practicing a religion, example, Islam may be subjected to hostilities due to the actions of Islamists beliefs on terror. 7. Patent law Patent law guarantees an individual a right to personal material that include an invention that is made public and copyright. In the US, patent laws prohibit usage, selling, exporting and also importing of patented materials in the US and other countries. The law is meant to safeguard personal contents from unauthorized usage that may result in losses. The US patent law sets the patent term to be 20 years, starting from the date when the patent was claimed and registered. An example of patent law is that it is illegal to download films, songs or transfer the materials to a third party without the consent of the copyright owner. Such actions can result in a legal suit with a subsequent application of patent law. 8. Bailment Bailment refers to a situation where the possession of a physical property changes hands from the bailor to the bailee without changing ownership. This implies that the bailee has the right to use the property as prescribed in the bailment terms within the period stipulated. During such a period, the bailor cannot use the property until the set period expires. In bailment, both the bailee and the bailor must have an active intention to physically possess the property. An example of bailment is a situation where a carrier is contracted to deliver goods. The agreement is to deliver the goods safely within a certain period of time. The carrier has possession of the goods, but not ownership of the goods. Reference Cheeseman, H. R. (2006). Essentials of business and online commerce law: Legal, e-commerce, ethical, and global environments. Upper Saddle River, N.J: Pearson Prentice Hall. Read More