MADRID, 7 (Portaltic/EP) A Canadian judge has ruled that the ’emoji’ of the thumbs up can be recognized as a valid means of sealing a contract, equivalent to a signature, since it is a method of regular communication and the courts should not try to stem the wave of technology and common usage. The ’emojis’ are used daily for communication by instant messages, whether through social networks, instant messaging applications or SMS. In this sense, these symbols that imitate everyday gestures such as smiley faces or handshakes are becoming part of the common language of users. In this framework, a Canadian judge has ruled in a recent case that sending a message with the ’emoji’ of the thumbs up can be interpreted as a valid means of formally sealing a contract. In fact, this same judge has indicated that, although it is a novel method, it is a valid way of transmitting the purposes of a firm, since it is a common method of communication and the courts cannot and should not try to stop the wave of technology. This has been reflected in the summary documents of the trial to which this case refers, in which a farmer and a flax buyer faced each other over a breached contract, and which ended up ruling in favor of the buyer, who will have to receive 82,000 Canadian dollars (around 5,642 euros) from the farmer. Specifically, the case took place in a King’s Bench Court, in the province of Saskatchewan (Canada) where, according to what was exposed, a farmer responded with the ’emoji’ of the thumbs up to a message in which a contract was sent purchase of linen The buyer thought this was a contract validation message, but the farmer differs: he simply wanted to indicate that I received the text message from him, he has alleged. As reported, the buyer sent the purchase contract by message, followed by the text confirm the linen contract. After that, the farmer responded with the ’emoji’, and there was no further interaction between the two. In fact, the agreed linen was not delivered. The farmer claimed that the buyer had not sent him the full terms and conditions of the contract and, in this sense, he understood that the full contract would be sent to him later by email. Therefore, he sent the ’emoji’ with the intention of implying that he had received the message but denies that he accepted the thumbs up emoji as a digital signature of the incomplete contract. However, the case, placed in the hands of the Canadian judge Timothy Keene, has been settled in favor of the buyer, since the ’emoji’ of the thumb has been recognized as a means to seal a contract, as it is a symbol that implies acceptance and which is commonly used. This court readily recognizes that an ’emoji’ is a non-traditional means of signing a document, but nonetheless, in the circumstances, this was a valid way to convey both purposes of a signature and to convey acceptance of the linen contract. says the judge. Thus, regarding his validity as a signature, Keene clarified that the signer can be identified using his unique phone number as a record. In this regard, the farmer’s lawyer stated that by accepting this ’emoji’ of the thumb as a form of identity and acceptance, the doors are being opened to allow more cases to be presented that request interpretations of what the different ’emojis’ mean. The courts will be inundated with all kinds of cases if this court determines that the thumbs-up emoji can take the place of a signature, the farmer’s lawyer stressed. To which Judge Keene qualified that this seems to be the new reality in Canadian society and that, therefore, the courts will have to be ready to face the new challenges that may arise from the use of emojis and the like.
