Dear Colleagues,

You may find the announcement below of interest.

The following announcement was made by Digital Discovery & e-Evidence on
Wednesday, March 23, 2005. in their Electronic Evidence Update e-mail
service.

French Government Specifies Retention Period for E-Contracts

France has published new standards on electronic contracting that require
firms to store for a 10-year period all e-contracts for goods and services
valued above 120 euros ($161.50) (Decree No. 2005-137, 2/16/05). The Law on
Confidence in the Digital Economy (Law No. 2004-575, June 21, 2004) was
designed to boost e-commerce by adapting existing legislation to cyberspace
and ensuring adequate consumer protection for transactions online.

Philippe Bazin, an attorney with Emo Hebert & Associes, Rouen, said March 14
that the new decree will fill the "legal void" that has surrounded
electronic storage until now.

But implementation of the decree is not expected to be seamless. "The
problem that this decree poses for companies is deciding whether to manage
their electronic document storage activities in-house, or to hire an outside
firm to handle this service," Bazin said, noting that "in either event, the
costs will not be negligible."

The decree will oblige companies to ensure the integrity and accessibility
of documents, as well as confidence in the digital storage system, over
lengthy periods of time, Bazin said. "The issue now for companies is not
only storing documents, but also protecting themselves against the
obsolescence of their computer networks and support systems," he said.

Read more about this development in the April issue of
<http://www.magnetmail.net/ls.cfm?r=15549384&sid=444969&m=83818&u=PikeFisch&
s=http://www.pf.com/law_internet_digitaldisc.asp> Digital Discovery &
e-Evidence.

Regards, Laurie

Mr Daniel Lawrance [Laurie] Varendorff, ARMA
Member of the Western Australian Government - State Records Commission (SRC)
- Digital Records Working Group (DRWG).
Specialist Technical Writer on Records and Information Management (RIM) and
related subjects, available for hire.
Published Articles available @ http://www.microfilm.net.au/articles.shtml
A Records Management Professional, and proud of the fact!
Consultant/Trainer/Tutor/Presenter: Records and Information Management
Imaging and Micrographic Specialist: 31 years experience

Representing: Digital Microfilm Equipment - DME

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<http://www.microfilm.net.au/>  - For all things Micrographic
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