ASP users get international watchdog

The ASP industry is to establish a watchdog body to monitor and mediate online transactions.

The organisation will be a joint effort between the ASP industry consortium (Aspic) - an international advocacy group of almost 500 technology companies - and the World Intellectual Property Organization (Wipo). The two groups will work together to establish a set of guidelines to help ASP companies and their clients avoid courtroom confrontations.

According to Traver Gruen-Kennedy, chairman of Aspic, ASPs are bringing technology from the desktop age to the network age, but said that global interaction brings obvious problems.

"With the ASP model a client can be in one country, a service provider in another, and there could be a roaming mobile user. Managing contracts across those borders is imperative," he told silicon.com.

He said the venture will create a level playing field for small and medium-sized users. Gruen-Kennedy said the guidelines - which have yet to be finalised - and the mediation service, will afford smaller users the same advantages as large corporations.

Although the service is still in its infancy and has not yet been called upon to mediate a case, Gruen-Kennedy claimed it is an area with huge potential for disputes.

"For example, take a company which outsources its email service. What happens if the email publisher leaks the email content onto the Web. Not only do a company's competitors know what they're doing, the company has lost trust in their client and harm is done," he said

Wipo and Aspic have also agreed to develop an international contract language for the delivery of ASP services.