Master Terms of Agreement.
country-code, known as country-code top-level domains or ccTLDs. The use of ccTLDs was introduced by Dr. Jon Postel, the Internet architect originally entrusted with responsibility for deployment of the Internet’s domain name system. His objective for the DNS system was to enable local Internet communities worldwide to develop their own locally-responsive and -accountable DNS services, and to encourage all parts of the world to “get online.” That original initiative has grown into the ccTLDs used today to document various countries’ (and territories’) relationships with ICANN. Examples of such ccTLDs include .ae (United Arab Emirates), .au (Australia), .ca (Canada), .fr (France), .jp (Japan), and .uk (United Kingdom). Such registrations are administered by what’s known as “country-code managers.” To identify the manager for your specific country-code, and for information about ccTLD registration requirements, see the IANA ccTLD database, which can be found at www.iana.org/cctld/cctld-whois.
✪ DIGITAL CERTIFICATES
Digital certificates (also referred to as “authentication certificates,” “SSL server certificates,” and “digital IDs”) are the key to providing customer transaction security. A digital certificate is a message sent by one party to another at the beginning of a secure Internet session. The certificate verifies the sender’s identity and vouches for that person’s/organization’s integrity. Just as a driving license is used to validate a motor vehicle driver, a digital certificate establishs the identity of someone in cyber- space. These digital IDs hold a mapping between a user and an encryption key. This key is private to the user and only he or she can use it. Digital certificates also contain the information necessary to allow users to exchange data securely and to transact business over the Internet.
You obtain your digital certificate from an organization called a “Certificate Author- ity” (CA). The certificate is virtually impossible to forge because the final requirement of secure communications is non-repudiation: a message’s source must be able to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt upon demand.
Technically, a Digital Certificate is a small piece of unique data used by encryption and authentication software. This digital ID establishes a user’s credentials when doing business or other transactions on the Web. It does this by attaching a small file to the data transaction. That file contains: the certificate owner’s name, a serial number, expiration date, a copy of the certificate owner’s public key (used for encrypting messages and digital signatures), and the digital signature of the certificate-issuing authority, allowing the recipient to verify that the certificate is genuine.
Once an Internet client (i.e. your customer’s web browser) requests a secure ses
sion, your web server sends the client/browser its digital certificate information, which contains the following:
*The public key.
*The certificate’s serial number.
*The certificate’s validity period.
*The web server’s official domain name.
*The domain name of the CA that issued the certificate.
This information is encrypted using the private key of the CA that issued the certificate. Upon receiving your digital certificate information, the customer’s web browser validates it by checking the following criteria:
- Validity is it valid for the current date?
- Ownership – does it belong to the server that sent it?
- Certificate Authority – is the CA that issued the digital certificate known and trusted? (To do this, the client/browser checks the CA’s own certificate, which is signed by the CA itself.)
- White-label: A product or service that is produced by one company and re- branded or resold by another company under its own brand name, typically used in software, digital services, and e-commerce.
- Webinar: A seminar or presentation conducted over the internet in real-time, allowing participants to interact, ask questions, and engage with the presenter or host.
- Content Management System (CMS): A software platform or application used to create, manage, and publish digital content, such as websites, blogs, or online stores, with features for editing, organizing, and updating content.
- Affiliate Network: A platform or marketplace that connects merchants or advertisers with affiliate marketers or publishers, facilitating affiliate marketing partnerships, tracking commissions, and managing affiliate programs.
- Customer Relationship Management (CRM): A software system or strategy used by businesses to manage interactions and relationships with customers, including sales, marketing, customer service, and support activities.
- Return Policy: A set of rules, terms, and conditions established by a retailer or seller outlining the process for returning or exchanging purchased products, including eligibility, time frames, and procedures.
- Payment Gateway: A technology or service that facilitates online payment processing and transactions between buyers and sellers, securely authorizing and processing payments via credit cards, debit cards, or other payment methods.
Public key – can the CA’s digital signature be decrypted using the CA’s public key. (Most web browsers contain a list of the public keys of the best-known CAs, so they do not need to search the Internet for them.)
If the certificate fails any of these tests, the client/browser issues a warning to the customer. The customer may then choose either to continue with the session or to discontinue the session.
Digital certificates can be issued in chains. For example, a large CA might issue a certificate to a smaller CA, which issues a certificate to a still smaller CA, which issues end-entity certificates to e-commerce websites. This type of procedure helps to dis- tribute the task of administering digital certificates. When a customer’s browser/client receives a certificate from a chain, it checks the certificate of every CA in the chain as described above, until it reaches the self-signed certificate of a top-level CA.
Perhaps this scenario will help the reader better to understand how a digital certificate is used in e-commerce. (Also see Fig. 8.) Let’s assume a customer fills in his or her credit card details on a form at a website and then clicks the buy/send/submit order button, which causes that customer’s credit card information to be sent as little bits of electronic data from the customer’s PC to another computer, via the Inter- net (which is made up of a network of computers, wires, cables and other connections). If not careful, the customer’s data can be intercepted by malicious third parties (this is why transaction security is vital in e-commerce).
Such security is provided by spetive impact upon programming innovation. Given that many prevalent programming techniques have not been formally published, the lawsuit created the possibility that anyone could apply to patent a given technique and thus obtain a monopoly on its use, despite the fact that the technique was not new at all. The PTO would have no way of knowing what was new because there was no database of existing software techniques to search. Most patents would not be contested because the cost and effort involved in contesting a patent’s validity is considerable and most independent programmers would not be able to mount the effort. In the long run, consumers would be the losers as they would not have access to convenient methods of shop- ping, except on Web sites owned by organizations, which could afford to license patents.
Because this case was settled and did not result in a court decision, its impact is somewhat limited. Nevertheless, it probably is reasonable for a Web designer to pay attention to the various payment options in use on the Web, and to avoid copying a particular method, unless the designer is certain it is not subject to copyright or patent protection. Managers, marketers, and others involved in e- commerce should also be prudent in implementing business methods on the Web, given the cost of litigation and the effect that an injunction could have on a business’s bottom line.
Table 3. Agreement phase
2 Agreement phase
2.1 Configuration of products and services
2.1.1 Mass customization
2.1.2 Product configurators
2.1.3 Integration of third party configurators
2.2 Calculation of prices based on product configuration
2.3 Request for quotation
2.4 Negotiation of conditions
2.5 Shopping cart
2.6 Check-out support 2.6.1 Delivery options
2.6.1.1 Wrapping
2.6.2.2 Dispatch type
2.6.2.3 Shipping date
2.6.2.4 Shipping address 2.6.2.5 Billing address
2.6.2 Payment options
2.6.2.1 Advance payment
2.6.2.2 Debit card
2.6.2.3 Invoice/debit direct 2.6.2.4 Pay-by-call
2.6.2.5 Internet payment system 2.6.2.6 Credit card
2.6.2.7 Purchasing card
2.6.2.8 Financing/leasing
