how valid are click contracts?

[rachel]

I am putting up a web site to sell household products and was wondering how valid the agreements are with people who click a "purchase" button or any other "I agree" buttons that I may have on my site. It's important and I realize it now because I just had a problem I posted elsewhere with a former friend who says since the agreement wasn't in writing it isn't valid. I want to know if these agreements with a click button are and if they are as good as a written one. Thanks.

 

[Michael Wechsler]

Clickthrough agreements seem to be held enforceable consistently in the US and abroad. The most important characteristics affecting the enforceability of the clickthrough agreements are:

1) that they cannot be easily bypassed by a user and that an affirmative action (such as a click) is necessary to continue. The greater the action (e.g., some require the user to scroll to the end of the agreement/page) the better the chance of enforceability.

2) that they provide a meaningful ability for the user to comprehend the agreement and decide whether or not to accept. If you have a tiny scroll box in which a user can barely read the agreement and could potentially miss reading part of the agreement you could have a problem. Many sites have, in addition to a scroll box with the agreement, a link which will open a new page in which the entire agreement can be viewed.