A Canadian judge has set the doctrine of emojis by dictating that the symbol of the Thumb up can be recognized as valid give for sealed a contract, equivalent to a signature. In his arguments, the lawyer explained that this is a normal mode of communication and that the courts should not “try to stem the tide of technology and common use.

THE ’emoji’ are used for daily communication by instant messages, via social networks, instant messaging applications or SMS. These are symbols that imitate everyday gestures such as smileys or handshakes, and which are part of the usual language of users.

This is what the Canadian judge considered Timothy Keene when deciding on a recent case and finds that sending a message with the thumbs up emoji can be interpreted as a valid means of formally seal a contract.

This same judge indicated that, although it is a new methodIt’s a “valid” form to convey the purposes of a signature, as it is a common method of communication and the courts “cannot and should not try to stop the tide of technology”.

The dispute between a buyer and a farmer: be careful how you use emoji

This was reflected in the summary documents of the judgement to which this case refers, in which they faced a flax farmer and buyer for a broken contract, and which ended up deciding in favor of the buyer, who will have to receive 82,000 Canadian dollars (approximately €5,642) by the farmer.

The case was tried in a Court of King’s Benchin the province of Saskatchewan (Canada) where, as noted, a the farmer replied with the ’emoji’ thumb up message that sent a linen purchase contract. The buyer thought it was a contract validation message, but the farmer disagrees: “I just wanted to indicate that I received your text message”, he said. alleged.

The buyer sent the contract of said purchase by message, followed by the text “cconfirm the linen contract”. After that, the farmer replied with the “emoji”, and there was no further interaction between the two. Indeed, the agreed linen was not delivered.

The farmer claimed that the buyer had not sent him the terms and conditions of the contract and, in this sense, he understood that the complete contract would be sent to him later by e-mail. Therefore, he sent the “emoji” intending to imply that “he had received the message” but denies “having accepted the thumbs-up emoji as the digital signature of the incomplete contract”.

However, the case, placed in the hands of the Canadian judge Timothy Keene, He decided in favor of the buyer, since the “thumb emoji” has been recognized as a means of sealing a contract, as it is a symbol that implies acceptance and is commonly used.

“This court readily acknowledges that an ’emoji’ is a non-traditional way to sign a document, but nonetheless, in these circumstances, it was a valid way to convey both the purposes of a signature and to convey the acceptance of the linen contract”, said the judge.

On its validity as a signature, Keene clarified that the signer can be identified using their unique phone number as a record. In this regard, the farmer’s lawyer said that by accepting this ‘thumb emoji’ as a form of ‘identity and acceptance’ they are ‘opening doors’ to allow more cases to be presented. which require interpretations of the meaning of the various symbols. ’emoji’.

“The courts will be inundated with all kinds of cases if this court determines that the thumbs-up emoji can replace a signature,” the farmer’s attorney said. To which Justice Keene nuanced that this seems to be “the new reality of Canadian society” and that, therefore, the courts “will have to be prepared to deal with the new challenges that may arise from the use of emojis and the like “.