A unilateral contract is a contract (see: Contract) where an offer is made not to a specific party, but to anybody. For example, if a breakfast cereal manufacturer offers to send, say, a mug free-of-charge to anyone who sends in three box-tops, then anyone who does so has entered into a unilateral contract. Such a contract, to be valid, must comply with the same particulars as any other contract, except that the acceptance of the offer may be by conduct, rather than by notification. The most famous precedent here is Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball (see: Carlill V Carbolic Smoke Ball Co (1893)).
