   Contracts are simply binding promises that the law will
enforce. Contracts may be either verbal or in writing, although
it is certainly much easier to prove the existence of a contract
if it has been reduced to writing. In some instances the law
will only recognize a contract if the contract has been
memorialized in a written agreement. For example, most
jurisdictions have statutes of frauds provisions that require
that certain transactions, i.e., real estate, be memorialized in
writing. A transfer of copyright ownership (which encompasses an
assignment, mortgage, exclusive license, or any other
conveyance, alienation, or hypothecation of a copyright or of
any of the exclusive rights comprised in a copyright) must also
be memorialized in writing. See 17 USC § 204.  A contract
represents the agreement reached between two or more parties, so
the specific rights and obligations undertaken and assumed by
the parties can largely be negotiated by the parties. Although
certain core contract provisions are typical