Digital and collaborative contract creation

In addition to the client portal (see this article), I am finalizing a collaborative contract creation portal for a near-term launch in January 2020.

The tool will enable simultaneous editing of documents with multiple participants, including annotation and versioning. Finally, an end to the chaos of having to send clients different versions of contracts, which they could then comment on, perhaps send to contractors, who in turn commented on the contracts, etc.

This way, it has always been a challenge to keep track of the current version status. Comments on individual changes, versions, adjustments, etc. were also more difficult in this way. The new tool is based on a collaborative document editing core, so that changes to a document are immediately visible to everyone involved – regardless of where users are located and what device they are working with. If required, a contract or other document can then be revised and/or commented on with a time delay, even in real time. In doing so, the tool will immediately track all changes in a section history and make it easy for clients, as well as contractors or clients’ consultants, to add comments and new proposals, which either I or the client can then decide to accept.

The tool will also allow conversations and comments to be made in the context to which they are relevant – directly in the relevant section. Finally, an end to email threads that go on for ages. It will be possible to select whether a comment is visible to all participants of a document or whether only certain participants should be able to exchange comments. This will enable confidential voting even without e-mails or phone calls.

The tool will thereby reliably notify each stakeholder of new, content changes and immediately be highlighted for a viewer in the document. Missed changes are a thing of the past. Time-consuming version comparisons are also no longer necessary, which greatly simplifies the revision process.
The tool will also enable comparisons of documents that were previously created in Word and will of course include a step-by-step authorization concept for all functions. The latter makes it possible to specify who can read the document (or individual sections), change content, have the right to release it, or who can create a final document from the entire edit.

Author: Marian Härtel

Marian Härtel ist Rechtsanwalt und Fachanwalt für IT-Recht mit einer über 25-jährigen Erfahrung als Unternehmer und Berater in den Bereichen Games, E-Sport, Blockchain, SaaS und Künstliche Intelligenz. Seine Beratungsschwerpunkte umfassen neben dem IT-Recht insbesondere das Urheberrecht, Medienrecht sowie Wettbewerbsrecht. Er betreut schwerpunktmäßig Start-ups, Agenturen und Influencer, die er in strategischen Fragen, komplexen Vertragsangelegenheiten sowie bei Investitionsprojekten begleitet. Dabei zeichnet sich seine Beratung durch einen interdisziplinären Ansatz aus, der juristische Expertise und langjährige unternehmerische Erfahrung miteinander verbindet. Ziel seiner Tätigkeit ist stets, Mandanten praxisorientierte Lösungen anzubieten und rechtlich fundierte Unterstützung bei der Umsetzung innovativer Geschäftsmodelle zu gewährleisten.