Law Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for legal professionals, students, and others with experience or interest in law. It only takes a minute to sign up.
Sign up to join this community
Kumaran, an electrician, develops novel lampshades. In January 2016, he developed a new lampshade suitable for use with compact fluorescent lights.
On 1 May 2016, he emailed Bobby and Chew, both wholesalers, to whom he had previously sold lampshades. In his email, he asked each of them whether he would be interested in becoming the sole distributor of his new lampshade.
Is this an offer or an invitation to treat?
It's not an offer. An offer must be sufficiently complete that it is able to be accepted and thereby form a contract. If the wholesalers were to write back "I accept" - what, precisely are the terms of the contract?
It is an invitation to treat in that is is "...an expression of willingness to negotiate."
