Gov/en/Portal:R&D/Open-Call:Contract-Signature
💡 In simple words: When people agree on a deal, they sign it, like writing your name at the bottom of a promise. How should signing work on WikiDeal? Which free computer tools could help people sign contracts online? This page is a future call for ideas to study the question. It is not open yet, and nothing is decided.
🎯 In 20 seconds (expert summary): Draft open call, under construction, wave 2, not yet launched. It is intended to invite proposals on the management of contract signatures: which tools, which free software (the goal being 100% free software under the AGPL license), which signature levels, why these tools, and how to adapt them. The preference goes to the simplest possible solutions, aligned with the current dominant culture of signing. One open question is whether WikiDeal would offer an online signature tool of its own or rely on existing tools. Nothing is decided; scope, awards and deadline are to be defined at launch.
Open call: contract signature (draft, under construction)
| Status | Draft, under construction, not yet launched |
| Wave | 2 |
| Deadline | To be defined at launch |
| Awards | To be defined |
| How to propose | Not open yet |
What this call is intended to be about
This draft open call is intended to invite proposals on the management of contract signatures in WikiDeal, including electronic signature. Signature is one of the standard elements of every market portal: see the Portal Structure Model, Signature section.
Proposals would cover:
- which tools could manage contract signatures, and why these tools;
- which free software could be used or adapted, the goal being that 100% of the software would be AGPL-licensed free software;
- which signature levels would apply (existing legal frameworks distinguish, for example, simple, advanced and qualified electronic signatures, with a legal value that varies by country);
- how to adapt the chosen tools to WikiDeal contracts.
The guiding preference is for solutions that are as simple as possible and as aligned as possible with the current dominant culture of how people sign today, rather than solutions that would require users to change their habits first.
Open questions for this call
- Should WikiDeal offer an online signature tool of its own, or rely on existing external tools?
- Which signature levels are needed for which types of contracts?
- Which AGPL-licensed free software could be used or adapted, and at what cost?
- How would proof of signature be kept, and for how long?
- How would the legal value of the chosen signatures be assessed, country by country?
Status
This is a wave 2 draft: it is announced as an upcoming open call and is not yet launched. Scope, awards and deadline are intended to be defined at launch. The general rules of the Open Call would apply, in particular the rules of the game.