Slide 23 of 26
Notes:
I would to emphasize the fundamental importance of the development of “trusted systems” as providing the most powerful approach for the immediate term. If the consumer has confidence (1) that the goods or services will be as promised, (2) that his or her payment and related data will be kept confidential, (3) that delivery will timely and convenient and that (4) misunderstandings can be addressed in a quick and simple online manner, the jurisdictional issues disappear as a practical matter. The consumer fundamentally does not care. The issues, of course, remain for us lawyers and as an academic matter. An excellent outcome from the standpoint of the welfare of all parties is make jurisdiction issues irrelevant.
This is nothing new. In the Renaissance period, the right paper put in the right independent hands was good funds from London to Lombardy from Paris to Prague. Modern banks have their origin in that phenomenon. On e of the principal early guaranty systems that operated in this way had its origin in Germany in a small building over whose front door was hung a shield that was painted red. The German for “red shield” is “Rot Schild” or, as we now know the name, “Rothschild.” That red shield is modern computer terms is an “icon.” Trusted systems identified by an icon have the potential to sharply reduce jurisdictional conflicts as a practical matter. The issue is what creates trust on both sides within the time frame that the pace of the Internet demands.
