Boilerplate : the foundation of market contracts / edited by Omri Ben-Shahar.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Ben-Shahar, Omri, editor.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Standardized terms of contract.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xviii, 237 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2007.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Boilerplate, the fine print of standard contracts, is more prevalent than ever in commercial trade and in electronic commerce. But what is in it, beyond legal technicalities? Why is it so hard to read and why is it often so one-sided? Who writes it, who reads it, and what effect does it have? The studies in this volume question whether boilerplate is true contract. Does it resemble a statute? Is it a species of property? Should we think of it as a feature of the product we buy? Does competition improve boilerplate? Looking at the empirical reality in which various boilerplates operate, leading private law experts reveal subtle and previously unrecognized ways in which boilerplate clauses encourage information flow, but also reduce it; how new boilerplate terms are produced, and how innovation in boilerplate is stifled; how negotiation happens in the shadow of boilerplate, and how it is subdued. They offer a new explanation as to why boilerplate is often so one-sided. With emphasis on empiricism and economic thinking, this volume provides a more nuanced understanding of the 'DNA' of market contracts, the boilerplate terms.

Contents:

One-sided contracts in competitive consumer markets / Lucian A. Bebchuk and Richard A. Posner

Cooperative negotiations in the shadow of boilerplate / Jason S. Johnston

Boilerplate and economic power in auto manufacturing contracts / Omri Ben-Shahar and James J. White

"Unfair" dispute resolution clauses : much ado about nothing? / Florencia Marotta-Wurgler

The unconventional uses of transactions costs / David Gilo and Ariel Porat / Online boilerplate : would mandatory website disclosure of e-standard terms backfire? / Robert A. Hillman

Pre-approved boilerplate / Clayton P. Gillette

"Contracting" for credit / Ronald J. Mann

The role of nonprofits in the production of boilerplate / Kevin E. Davis

The boilerplate paradox / Douglas G. Baird

Contract as statute / Stephen J. Choi and G. Mitu Gulati

Modularity in contracts : boilerplate and information flow / Henry E. Smith

Contra proferentum : the allure of ambiguous boilerplate / Michelle E. Boardman

Boilerplate today : the rise of modularity and the waning of consent / Margaret Jane Radin

The law and sociology of boilerplate / Todd J. Rakoff.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 05 Oct 2015).

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

1-107-17749-9

1-280-90995-1

0-511-28606-6

0-511-28678-3

0-511-28449-7

0-511-30177-4

0-511-61117-X

0-511-28531-0

OCLC:

648262035