Project Bolero

A Bolero.net Project Report

RON WELLS CCE

OBJECTIVE

To "de-materialise paper" in ALL its forms by producing an acceptable electronic substitute.

In order to be generally acceptable and acceptable as evidence in a Court of Law, an electronic substitute must:

Have the properties of an unaltered paper original.

Carry an original, authenticated ‘signature’ which cannot be challenged.

Have verifiable sent / delivered and non-repudiation features.

UNIQUE SELLING PROPOSITIONS (USP’s)

Bolero.net is the only independent third party to offer digital signature authentication plus:

Evidence of dispatch and receipt.

Evidence that the content has not been altered since signature/dispatch.

The only party utilising a Rule Book which will meet legal requirements in a multitude of legal jurisdictions.

MORE USP’s

Bolero.net has a "carrier only" role (independent/trusted third-party).

Meaningful guarantee (substantial financial and technical backing).

Free format allowed for contents of messages and/or attached documents.

The Title Registry Service.

Open to all parties to join unilaterally (no bilateral nor multilateral negotiation necessary - simply sign the Rule Book to become ‘Bolero.net connected’).

A PAPER SUBSTITUTE

In order to create a paper substitute, Bolero.net will wrap each Internet message in an ‘envelope’ which will enable Bolero to;

guarantee that the message was sent by the person claiming to have sent it and on behalf of the organisation that person represents;

guarantee that the message contents were not changed during transmission and

witness the time of dispatch by the sender and the time of receipt by the addressee.

These are all vital elements necessary to enable the acceptance of electronic messages as substitutes for traditional paper documents.

Note: Bolero is a "trusted third party" - owned by SWIFT and TT Club.

SERVICE OFFER

Initially Bolero will offer two services which will be of interest;

a message authentication and verification service (with an encryption option) and

a "Title Registry Service".

The Title Registry Service will enable the introduction of the BOLERO BILL OF LADING (BBL). The BBL will be an electronic record of title (ownership and/or rights in goods). It is designed to replace the equivalent traditional paper Bill of Lading (BoL).

Bolero.net

Bolero.net is an Internet based system that supports business to business (B2B)
e-commerce data exchanges between all the parties involved in international trade.

Bolero.net creates legal certainty in the applicability of the data exchanged through the development of a ground-breaking new international legal infrastructure encapsulated in the Bolero Rule Book.

Bolero.net allows the ownership of goods to be quickly and securely transferred to parties around the world through the unique Bolero Title Registry system.

PRACTICAL STEPS

Study the Bolero Rule Book and arrange internal legal review.
Sign the necessary contracts with Bolero.net and the Bolero Association.
Identify a transaction stream and the other parties involved.
Check that the other parties are all ‘Bolero.net connected’.
Create internal processes to meet commitments made in terms of the Bolero Rule Book and internal security requirements.
Choose ‘Bolero.net enabled’ "front end" software or develop it ‘in-house’, using the Bolero Tool Kit. The Bolero Tool Kit is supplied to all entities that ‘sign-up’ and includes a "basic starter front end software", only suitable for ‘low tech.’ users and small businesses.

THE CHALLENGES

Legal approval.

Partner(s) identification/persuasion.

Software decisions.

Processes designed to be;

Practical,

Secure and

Audit Acceptable.

THE PRIZE

De-materialised paper which will create:

	Process efficiencies.
	Enabled system to system processing untouched by human hands.
	Cost savings.
	Reduced risk of fraud.
	The opportunity to transact safely with any entity in the world, provided the chosen counterpart is ‘Bolero.net connected’.

THE REWARDS

Authenticated communications with any ‘Bolero.net connected’ bank in the world, without making bilateral arrangements.

	Exchanges of ‘authenticated’ contracts and contract amendments and ‘no more expensive telexes’.
	Easy access to any ‘Bolero.net connected’ Internet exchange (portal or vortal) site.

No more Letters of Indemnity for Missing Documents (LoI’s) and no more related Bank Guarantees, hence reduced contingent liabilities.

No risk of fraudulent Bills of Lading. No more sets of "three original Bills of Lading".

Less searching for, filing and handling of paper documents.

Also refer to a previous article (May 1999) titled "Will e-commerce BOLERO-off ...".