Extending support for contracts in ebXML

Abstract

We describe our proposal for extending the current ebXML standard to provide more comprehensive support for electronic contracts. We first present the current status of major B2B initiatives, focusing on their support for electronic contracts. Having found the ebXML meta-model to provide a suitable contractual foundation, we examine the full extent of the requirements for supporting electronic contracts, and propose extensions to the ebXML meta-model to facilitate these requirements.