Online Dispute Resolution: Technology, Management and Legal Practice from an International Perspective

This book helps lawyers, practitioners, legislators and students understand and cope with the challenges of e-commerce, and to learn about the most up-to-date technology and regulation of Online Dispute Resolution (ODR). It introduces different forms of online dispute resolution, against the background of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) developments in the off-line environment; crucially, it examines the current technology and legal status of ODR in the EU, US, Asia and Australia, and discusses the relations between the various parties in dispute resolutions, especially the Fifth party for the provider of the technology. It further analyses the four most successful examples, such as Michigan Cybercourt, WIPO-UDRP, eBay-SquareTrade and AAA-CyberSettle. Finally, a proposal for resolving e-contract disputes via ODR is provided, and a code of conduct recommended in order to regulate the electronic commerce market.

Background: Development of electronic commerce and dispute resolution; The context of ODR: The current legal environment of ODR; Analysis: Learning from successful experiences; The future of ODR; Conclusions and recommendations.