"Thought-provoking and far-sighted, this book provides a detailed analysis of the legal issues involved in on-line business and how a new generation of electronic agents can help. If you’re grappling with these issues today—or if you just want to see what’s coming tomorrow—this book is an excellent place to start." Thomas W. Malone, MIT Sloan School of Management
"Brian Subirana has written an excellent book addressing a topic which is becoming increasingly important in business today. As software, businesses and people become increasingly intertwined on-line, the legal ramifications of this emerging world will become a key area in the design of on-line systems and in public policy. The emergence and rapid adoption of RFID is making this topic even more pertinent, perhaps even urgent. This book is a visionary window into the future." Prof. Sanjay Sarma, MIT, Member of the Board of Governors of EPCglobal
Legal Programming: Designing Legally Compliant RFID and Software Agent Architectures for Retail Processes and Beyond provides a process-oriented discussion of the legal concerns presented by agent-based technologies, processes and programming. It offers a general outline of the potential legal difficulties that could arise in relation to them, focusing on the programming of negotiation and contracting processes in a privacy, consumer and commercial context. The authors will elucidate how it is possible to create form of legal framework and design methodology for transaction agents, applicable in any environment and not just in a specific proprietary framework, that provides the right level of compliance and trust. Key elements considered include the design and programming of legally compliant methods, the determination of rights in respect of objects and variables, and ontologies and programming frameworks for agent interactions. Examples are used to illustrate the points made and provide a practical perspective.
