As there are different kinds of acknowledgement of receipt of an EDI Message, it is essential to indicate clearly which level of acknowledgment is referred to, in order to avoid confusion. This definition reflects the level chosen within the agreement in particular as it is referred to in clause PROCESSING AND ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF RECEIPT OF ELECTRON IC DATA INTERCHANGE MESSAGES.

EDI is based on the use of structured and coded messages, the main characteristic of which is their ability to be processed by computers and transmitted automatically and without ambiguity. This definition emphasizes these essential characteristics, which make EDI specific in comparison with other data exchange such electronic mail.

• DEFINITIONS

  For the purpose of this Agreement, the following terms are defined as follows:

  Acknowledgement of receipt: the procedure by which, on receipt of the EDI Message, the syntax and semantics are checked, and a corresponding acknowledgement is sent by the receiver.

  Authentication: criteria permitting the receiver to verify that it is an authentic document by sender.

  Business day: any day except a Saturday, Sunday or any declared public holiday in the intended place of receipt of an EDI Message as defined in the User Manual.

  Data-log: a collection of data transferred that provides a complete historical record of data interchanged.

  Electronic Communications: the communications of digital data by electronic means such as but not limited to telephone, telefax, computer-to-computer-link.

  Electronic Data Interchange (EDI): is the electronic transfer of data, from computer to computer, using an agreed standard to structure an EDI Message.

  EDI Message: a set of segments, structured using an agreed standard, prepared in a computer readable format and capable of being automatically and unambiguously processed, as defined in the User Manual.

  Electronic Data Interchange Protocol: the protocol specified by the parties hereto as that governing the requirement of format, structure and transmission of documents and other communication between the Parties via the Electronic Data Interchange network.

  Electronic Mail: the electronic communication between the Parties of textual binary and graphical data in a non structured format, of a maximum size as specified in the User Manual.

  Electronic Signature: an agreed string of characters identifying the originator of an EDI or Electronic Mail message.

  Functional Acknowledgement: an acknowledgement message of the receiving Party's computer software application which automatically confirms the receipt of the Electronic Data Interchange document or Electronic Mail message at the moment of receipt.

  Garbled Transmission: an attempted transmission which cannot be decoded by the receiving Party's host software application and is therefore completely or partially unreadable.

  User Manual: the technical procedures and rules applicable to the transmission of data.