Conclusion

Agents act on your behalf and proxies act on someone else's behalf in order to render a service. An understanding of how the words are used in a technical and legal context may permit us to take the next step in asking the right questions.

Those questions will pertain to the responsibilities and roles of the providers of services anywhere within a network:

• Is a java aplet I download my agent?
• What legal responsibilities and obligations do network intermediaries that carry legally relevant protocol semantics have to the parties on either end of the agreement?

I believe the answers must focus on the users' ability to comprehend and exert control over agreements and how the failure of an agent is likely to affect the users.