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Parsing contracts

Parsing contracts

The Element Classification enrichment is deprecated and will no longer be available, effective 10 July 2020.

Element Classification returns parsed contracts with an analysis of each identified element.

The following sections describe how the returned JSON provides the analysis.

Types

The Element Classification enrichment is deprecated and will no longer be available, effective 10 July 2020.

The types array includes a number of objects, each of which contains nature and party keys whose values identify a couplet for the element.

The following tables list the possible values of the nature and party keys.

nature Description
Definition This element adds clarity for a term, relationship, or similar. No action is required to fulfill the element, nor is any party that is affected.
Disclaimer The party in the element is not obligated to fulfill the terms that are specified by the element but is not prohibited from doing so.
Exclusion The party in the element does not fulfill the terms that are specified by the element.
Obligation The party in the element is required to fulfill the terms that are specified by the element.
Right The party in the element is guaranteed to receive the terms that are specified by the element.

Each nature key is paired with a party key, which contains either the name or the role of the party or parties that apply to the nature (examples include, but are not limited to, Buyer, IBM, or All Parties). For the Definition nature, the party is always None.

Parties

The Element Classification enrichment is deprecated and will no longer be available, effective 10 July 2020.

The parties array specifies the participants that are listed in the contract. Each party object is associated with other objects that provide details about the party, including:

  • role: The party's role. Values are listed in the table that follows this list.
  • importance: The importance of the party. Possible values are Primary for a primary party and Unknown for a non-primary party.
  • addresses: An array that identifies addresses.
    • text: An address.
    • location: The location of the address as defined by its begin and end indexes.
  • contacts: An array that defines the names and roles of contacts that are identified in the input document.
    • name: The name of a contact.
    • role: The role of the contact.
  • mentions: An array that lists all mentions of the party in the input document.
    • text: The name of the party.
    • location: The location of the mention as defined by its begin and end indexes.

The values of role that can be returned for contracts include, but are not limited to:

role Description
Buyer The party responsible for paying for the goods or services that are listed in the contract.
End User The party who interacts with the provided goods or services, explicitly distinguished from the Buyer.
None No party was identified for the element.
Supplier The party responsible for providing the goods or services that are listed in the contract.

Categories

The Element Classification enrichment is deprecated and will no longer be available, effective 10 July 2020.

The categories array defines the subject matter of the sentence. Currently supported categories include:

categories Description
Amendments Elements that specify changes to the contract after it is signed, or alterations to a standard contract. Includes discussions of the conditions for changing the terms of a contract.
Asset Use Elements that refer to how one party might or might not use the assets of another party. This specifically applies to one party having access to or using assets such as licenses, equipment, tools, or personnel of the other party while in the process of conducting their duties under the agreement, including permissions and restrictions thereon. This does not extend to specifications of a party's obligations or rights regarding any purchased goods, services, licenses, etc., as those are the party's own assets, rather than assets of another party.
Assignments Elements that describe the transfer of rights, obligations, or both to a third party.
Audits Elements referring to either the right of a party to examine or review compliance, or requirements that a party be available for inspection or compliance review. This includes references to record keeping, primarily as it relates to the right of inspection, and the maintenance and retention of activity records that might be examined.
Business Continuity Elements referring to the consequences if part of or the entire business of one of the parties is sold.
Communication Elements referring to requirements to communicate, respond, notify, or provide notice; contact information; or information regarding changes to the contract. Also includes references to details about communication methods, the act or process of exchanging information, and acceptable means of exchanging information between parties (as well as others who are not necessarily direct parties to the contract).
Confidentiality Elements describing how parties can or cannot use information that is learned in the course of completing the contract and going forward. Also includes discussion of information that must be kept confidential, such as maintaining trade secrets or nondisclosure of business information.
Deliverables Elements specifying the items, such as goods or services, that one party provides to another under the terms of the contract, usually in exchange for payment. Includes discussion of preparation of deliverables.
Delivery Elements that specify the means or modes of transferring deliverables (things, as opposed to personal services) from one party to another. Includes discussions of characteristics of delivery, such as scheduling or location.
Dispute Resolution Elements discussing provisions for settling any dispute (for example, regarding labor, invoices, or billing) arising between contracting parties. Provision examples might include settlement by a defined procedure such as an arbitration panel, a process for obtaining an injunction, waiving a right to trial, or prohibiting the pursuit of a class action. Also includes references to the contract's governing law or choice of law, such as a particular country or jurisdiction.
Force Majeure Elements that refer to unexpected or disruptive events outside a party's control that would relieve the party from performing their contractual obligation.
Indemnification Elements that specify the remediation of certain liabilities, when one party of the contract becomes responsible for compensating another party as a result of incurred loss or damages during the term of, or arising from the circumstances of the contract. Also includes references to any legal exemptions from loss or damages.
Insurance Elements referring to insurance coverage or terms of coverage that is provided by one party to another party (including to third parties such as subcontractors or others). Includes a variety of insurance including, but not limited to, medical insurance.
Intellectual Property Elements that discuss the assignment of rights (such as copyrights, patents, and trade secrets) to parties to the contract. Includes references to patents, rights to apply for patents, trademarks, trade names, service marks, domain names, copyrights, and all applications and registration of such schematics, industrial models, inventions, authorship, know-how, trade secrets, computer software programs, and other intangible proprietary information. Also includes discussion of the consequences of violation of intellectual property rights.
Liability Elements that describe the method for determining when and how fault attaches to any party. Examples might include, but are not limited to, statements regarding limitations of liability, third-party claims, and repairs, replacements, or reimbursements as required of the party at fault.
Payment Terms & Billing Elements that detail how and when a party is to pay or get paid, as well as the items or fees the parties are paying or billed for. Includes references to modes of payment or payment mechanisms.
Pricing & Taxes Elements that refer to specific amounts or figures that are associated with individual deliverables that are exchanged (for example, how much something costs) as part of satisfying the terms of the contract. Includes references to specific figures or methods for calculating prices or tax amounts.
Privacy Elements that are particularly concerned with the treatment of sensitive personal information, usually regarding its protection, for example to satisfy regulations such as GDPR.
Responsibilities Elements that discuss tasks ancillary to the contract that are in only one party’s control, specifically focused on discussion of own employee oversight.
Safety and Security Elements referring to physical safety or cybersecurity protection for people, data, or systems. Examples include discussions of background checks, safety precautions, workplace security, secure access protocols, and product defects that might pose a danger.
Scope of Work Elements that define what is in the contract versus is not in the contract; consequently, what is promised to be done. Examples include statements defining a particular order, or describing the goals or aim outlined in the contract.
Subcontracts Elements referring to the hiring of third parties to perform certain duties under the contract, and the permissions, rights, restrictions, and consequences thereto and arising therefrom.
Term & Termination Elements referring to duration of the contract, the schedule and terms of contract termination, and any consequences of termination, including any obligations that apply at or after termination.
Warranties Elements that refer to ongoing promises and obligations that are made in the contract that are currently true and will continue to be true in the future. Also, elements discussing the consequences of such promises or obligations being broken, and the rights to remedy the situation (for example, but not limited to, seeking damages). This category does not apply to elements that are purely concerned with representation statements (statements of fact about the past or the present), or to elements that lay out assumptions regarding things that occurred in the past.

The categories and descriptions in the preceding table are based on United States law and might not apply in jurisdictions outside the United States.

Attributes

The Element Classification enrichment is deprecated and will no longer be available, effective 10 July 2020.

The attributes array specifies any attributes that are identified in the sentence. Each object in the array includes three keys: type (the type of attribute from the following table), text (the applicable text), and location (the begin and end indexes of the attribute in the input document). Currently supported attributes include:

attributes Description
Currency Monetary value and units.
DateTime A date, time, date range, or time range.
DefinedTerm A term that is defined in the input document.
Duration A time duration.
Location A geographical location or region.
Number A digital or textual number that describes a quantity of countable things and is not classified as one of the other numerical attribute types.
Organization An organization.
Percentage A percentage.
Person A person.

Effective dates

The Element Classification enrichment is deprecated and will no longer be available, effective 10 July 2020.

The effective_dates array identifies the date or dates on which the document becomes effective.

effective_dates Description
confidence_level The confidence level of the identification of the effective date. Possible values include High, Medium, and Low.
text An effective date, listed as a string.
text_normalized The normalized text of the text if available, listed as a string.
location The location of the date as defined by its begin and end indexes.
provenance_ids An array of hashed values that you can send to IBM to provide feedback or receive support.

Contract amounts

The Element Classification enrichment is deprecated and will no longer be available, effective 10 July 2020.

The contract_amounts array specifies monetary amounts that identify the total amount of the contract that needs to be paid from one party to another.

contract_amounts Description
confidence_level The confidence level of the identification of the contract amount. Possible values include High, Medium, and Low.
text A contract amount, listed as a string.
location The location of the contract amount as defined by its begin and end indexes.
provenance_ids An array of hashed values that you can send to IBM to provide feedback or receive support.

Termination dates

The Element Classification enrichment is deprecated and will no longer be available, effective 10 July 2020.

The termination_dates array identifies the date or dates on which the document is to be terminated.

termination_dates Description
confidence_level The confidence level of the identification of the termination date. Possible values include High, Medium, and Low.
text The termination date, listed as a string.
text_normalized The normalized text of the text if available, listed as a string.
location The location of the termination date as defined by its begin and end indexes.
provenance_ids An array of hashed values that you can send to IBM to provide feedback or receive support.

Contract types

The Element Classification enrichment is deprecated and will no longer be available, effective 10 July 2020.

The contract_types array identifies the document's contract type or types as declared in the document.

contract_types Description
confidence_level The confidence level of the identification of the contract type. Possible values include High, Medium, and Low.
text The contract type, listed as a string.
location The location of the contract type as defined by its begin and end indexes.
provenance_ids An array of hashed values that you can send to IBM to provide feedback or receive support.

Contract terms

The Element Classification enrichment is deprecated and will no longer be available, effective 10 July 2020.

The contract_terms array identifies the duration or durations of the contract as declared in the document.

contract_terms Description
confidence_level The confidence level of the identification of the contract term. Possible values include High, Medium, and Low.
text The contract term, listed as a string.
location The location of the contract term as defined by its begin and end indexes.
provenance_ids An array of hashed values that you can send to IBM to provide feedback or receive support.

Payment terms

The Element Classification enrichment is deprecated and will no longer be available, effective 10 July 2020.

The payment_terms array identifies the payment duration or durations as declared in the document.

payment_terms Description
confidence_level The confidence level of the identification of the payment term. Possible values include High, Medium, and Low.
text The payment term, listed as a string.
normalized_text The normalized text, if applicable.
interpretation The details of the normalized text, if applicable.
value A string listing the value that was found in the normalized text.
numeric_value An integer or float expressing the numeric value of the value key.
unit A string listing the unit of the value that was found in the normalized text.
location The location of the payment term as defined by its begin and end indexes.
provenance_ids An array of hashed values that you can send to IBM to provide feedback or receive support.

Contract currencies

The Element Classification enrichment is deprecated and will no longer be available, effective 10 July 2020.

The contract_currencies array identifies the contract currency or currencies as declared in the document.

contract_currencies Description
confidence_level The confidence level of the identification of the contract currency. Possible values include High, Medium, and Low.
text The contract currency, listed as a string.
text_normalized The normalized text of the text if applicable, listed as a string in ISO-4217 format.
location The location of the contract currency as defined by its begin and end indexes.
provenance_ids An array of hashed values that you can send to IBM to provide feedback or receive support.

Provenance

The Element Classification enrichment is deprecated and will no longer be available, effective 10 July 2020.

Each object in the types and categories arrays includes a provenance_ids array. The provenance_ids array has one or more keys. Each key is a hashed value that you can send to IBM to provide feedback or receive support.