Patent ID: 7146343

Claim:
A computer-assisted method of negotiating a contract over a computer network between a first negotiator and a second negotiator, comprising the steps of: (1) displaying on a first computer screen a plurality of predefined contract provisions, each relating to a contract provision and including an agree/defer selector for the first negotiator; a first dialogue box into which the first negotiator can enter text; an agree/defer selector for the second negotiator; and a second dialogue box into which the second negotiator can enter text; (2) receiving for each of the plurality of predefined contract provisions an agree/defer selection from the first negotiator; (3) displaying on a second computer screen the plurality of predefined contract provisions, including any agree/defer selections made by the first negotiator; the first dialogue box; the agree/defer selector for the second negotiator, and the second dialog box; (4) receiving for each of the plurality of predefined contract provisions an agree/defer selection from the second negotiator; (5) storing the agree/defer selections made by the first and second negotiators in a computer memory; (6) in response to detecting that the first and second negotiators have entered identical text in each respective first and second dialogue boxes, permitting the second negotiator to select “agree” and otherwise inhibiting such selection; and (7) repeating steps (1) and (3) until the first and second negotiator have selected either agree or defer for each of the plurality of contract provisions.