What happens in the Use Cases?
Several use cases related to Industry 4.0 are simulated in Legal Testbed, such as the interaction between intelligent containers, autonomous vehicles and software agents. The use cases describe typical business processes in production and logistics. Such use cases generally serve to optimize interfaces and processes. In Legal Testbed, these processes are used as an opportunity to investigate contractual and liability issues as well as any matters regarding data protection. In the context of simulated court cases (so-called mock trials) lawyers will pass judgement if possible, and furthermore highlight important legal questions.
From transport to production:
Our Use Cases
The use cases in Legal Testbed describe typical business processes during transportation and production in Industry 4.0. Errors or malfunctions are then introduced to create technical and legal implications.
Use Case Transport
Scenario: transport within the EU
When goods are transported, legal issues can arise which initially relate to the conclusion of purchase contracts between the shipper and the recipient but can also include contracts of carriage between one of the parties and a logistics service provider. Both purchase contracts and contracts of carriage result in transactions which are described and analyzed in Legal Testbed where they then undergo a legal appraisal in the context of their digitalization or automation.
Special case: transport involving a non-EU-member country
Customs authorities are involved whenever freight is transported via a third non-EU-member country. In Legal Testbed, companies are guided through the digital customs process and get advice on technical, security and legal aspects.
Incident: non-fulfillment of contract
This issue addresses a typical case of the non-fulfillment of a duty inherent in a contractual relationship: The consignment is damaged or destroyed or does not reach the recipient intact, on time or at all, e.g. due to other reasons such as the truck breaking down.
Use Case Production
Scenario: contracts between software agents
A customer and supplier automatically negotiate and conclude a contract to produce one or more articles. Both parties are represented on the software side by a software agent which acts autonomously. The aim of this use case is to map the negotiations and to conclude and implement the contract in Legal Testbed as well as to assess the legal requirements.
Special case: involving a broker
Automated negotiations open up opportunities for new business models. In this special case a service provider acts as a mediator between one customer and several suppliers. The service provider puts together the best possible options from the offers and proposes them to the customer. The result is a multilateral contract in which all the interests of all the partners are taken into account.
Incident: faulty products in quality control
This case considers questions of legal certainty and the integrity of the automatically negotiated contract. During quality control a faulty product is discovered and reclaimed. Legal Testbed analyses whether the contract contains all the required conditions and whether all the necessary information is available for legal processing to be carried out.
Legal Testbed – making Industry 4.0 legally compliant
How Legal Testbed supports companies in the legally compliant automation of business processes is illustrated by the use case transport! In the transport scenario, Legal Testbed assists in the automation of contract-relevant events and supports the fictitious companies NailTech and Kaiser Transporte in their entry into Industry 4.0.