Clause Approval Workflow for Consistent Contract Language
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing systems fail to ensure that electronic documents, such as legal contracts, consistently use up-to-date language for standard clauses due to individual variations and unawareness of legal or market changes.
Innovation Solution
A computer-implemented method and system that integrates a clauses panel within a word processing interface, allowing users to manage, approve, and automatically store clauses, ensuring they are marked as approved or awaiting approval, thereby maintaining up-to-date language across documents.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If individuals within an organization use different clause language in electronic documents, then individual customization and flexibility are improved, but consistency and compliance with organizational standards deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a clause management system that acts as an intermediary between individual users and the organizational clause database. This system provides approved clause templates and tracking mechanisms that mediate between individual document creation needs and organizational consistency requirements, ensuring all users access standardized clauses while maintaining the ability to customize non-standard portions.
2Ease of operation
If individuals continue to use outdated clause language due to unawareness of changes, then ease of operation is improved, but compliance with updated legal or market standards deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism through the clause management system that automatically notifies users when clauses are updated or superseded. The system tracks clause usage and provides alerts to individuals about outdated language, ensuring they remain compliant with current standards without requiring active awareness or manual research of changes.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-approving and storing updated clause language in the database before it becomes mandatory. Users automatically access these pre-prepared, compliant clauses through the management system, eliminating the need for them to proactively seek out or understand legal changes.
3Adaptability or versatility
If a manual process is used for reviewing and approving clauses, then flexibility in review is improved, but productivity and efficiency deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a dynamic clause management system that adapts its review process based on the specific clause and organizational needs. The system allows flexible configuration of approval workflows, assigning different levels of review authority to different users or groups, while automating routine aspects of the process to maintain high productivity and efficiency.
Data Source
AI summary
System and methods for managing a clauses database for use with creating electronic documents are disclosed. In one embodiment, a computer-implemented method for updating a database includes receiving, from a graphical user interface, a clause, the graphical user interface comprising an electronic document panel and a clauses panel, receiving, from the clauses panel, a clause approval assignment that assigns the clause to an approver; receiving, from the approver, an approval or a denial of the clause, and when an approval is received, storing the clause in the database, wherein the clause is marked as approved.