This document discusses key legal issues related to e-commerce, including contracts, business structures, domain names, and other identifiers. Some main points: 1) Contract law still applies to e-commerce transactions, though offer/acceptance can be inferred from online conduct. The Electronic Transactions Act aims to validate electronic signatures and records. 2) Sole traders, partnerships, and companies are common business structures, each with different liability and control implications to consider. 3) Domain names provide a human-friendly web address and are administered globally and within country code top-level domains. Registration requires avoiding conflicts with trademarks and other rights.

1. Doing Business in the
Information Age
John Corker
GENL0230

2. What is e-commerce?
Includes:
► Online business to business transactions
► Online business to consumer
transactions
► Digital delivery of products and services
► Online merchandising
► Automated telephone transactions eg
phone banking
► EFTPOS and other automated transfer
systems

3. Contracts
►Law of contracts
►Issues for e-commerce

4. Contracts - the basics
► Offer
► Acceptance
► Intentionto enter legal relations
► Consideration
► Legal capacity
► Genuine consent

5. Offer
► Clear statement of terms
► Person who makes it is prepared to be
bound
► Not just an “invitation to treat”

6. Acceptance
► Unqualified agreement to terms of offer
► Express or inferred by conduct
► Can’t be forced on unwilling person

7. Time of creation of contract
► Contract
formed at time and place the
acceptance is communicated to offeror

8. Termination or
revocation of offer
► Can be revoked prior to acceptance
► Revocation must be communicated to
offeror

9. Certainty
► Essential parts of contract must be clear and
complete
► Courts may imply a meaning
► Uncertain term can be “severed”

10. Consideration
► Valuable consideration
► Passing between parties to contract
► Can’t be unlawful or immoral

11. Intention
► Express
► Inferredfrom the circumstances
► Must be genuine consent - not obtained
under duress

12. Capacity
► Age
► Intellectual capacity

13. Terms and conditions
► Express
► Implied

14. Formalities
► Oral or written
► Writing required under statute eg for sale of
land

15. Practical concerns
for e-commerce deals
► Identityand capacity of seller or buyer
► Authenticity of offer and acceptance (digital
signatures)
► When and where contract formed
► Governing law
► Terms and conditions (click through)

16. Practical Concerns for
e-commerce deals(2)
► Agreement on electronic payment system
► Security of information exchanges
► Consequences on breach
► Storing electronic data to prevent alteration

17. Electronic Transactions Act
► Federal law with mirror State laws
(NSW, VIC, WA)
► To remove obstacles to electronic
transactions, communications, signatures
and record keeping
► 1 July 2001 applies to all federal laws unless
exempted

18. Electronic Transactions Act(2)
► Validates electronic transactions
► Given in writing met electronically now
 Govt can specify technology requirements
 Business requirement valid only with consent
► Signatures-partiesfree to agree on method
► Production and retention of documents
 Method must ensure integrity and accessibility
► Timeand place of dispatch and receipt of
communications

19. Electronic Transactions(3)
 Time of dispatch is when it enters the first
information system outside control of sender
 Time of receipt is when it enters an
information system designated by the
addressee for receiving it.
 Place of dispatch and receipt taken to be
respective places of business

20. Electronic Transactions (4)
► Record keeping OK electronically if law
says:
 Information to be recorded in writing
 A written document to be kept
 An electronic communication to be kept
► Records must be kept identifying
origin, destination, time of sending and
receipt of electronic communication

21. Making a contract
► What terms do you want to include?
► What risks are you trying to avoid?
► How will disputes about contract be dealt
with?
► What is the governing law?
► Who will sign it?

22. Setting up a
business entity
► Sole trader
► Partnership
► Company
► Trust

23. Sole trader
► All profits
► All losses
► All liabilities
► Own name or choose business name
► Register business name

24. Partnership
►Carrying on a business
►In common
►With a view to profit
►Established by written agreement, oral
agreement or conduct

25. Partnership
► Partnership Act 1892 (NSW)
► Corporations Law: Not more than 20
partners (except doctors, solicitors and
accountants)

26. Partnership
► Profit sharing
► Joint and several liability
► Fiduciary duties to partners

27. Companies
► Corporations Act
► Artificiallegal entity
► Liability of members can be limited

28. Companies
► Constitution
► Directors duties
► Limits on raising money from the public

29. Companies
► The “corporate veil”
► Liftingthe veil: fraud, agency, paying more
dividends than profit, incurring debts when
company insolvent

30. Companies
Form a company by:
► Registering name
► Lodge application with ASIC
► Registered office
► Names of directors and members

31. Which structure?
► Where are you getting your money from?
► What is your risk/liability?
► Who will be in control?
► What are the ongoing costs?

32. What is a domain name
► Human friendly form of an Internet address
► Actual address is an Internet Protocol (IP)
number
► System globally administered by ICANN
► Generic top level domains (gTLDs)
 .com, .org, .net, .edu, .gov, .biz
► Country code top level domains (ccTLDs)

33. Domain name registration
in Australia
► open and closed domains
► open - .com, .org, .net, .info, .biz
► closed - .gov, .edu, .mil, .museum
► auDA administers .com.au space
► to register in .au space must be a
commercial entity registered and trading
in Australia..

34. Domain Names (cont)
► Licensed on a first come-first served basis
► Domain Names never meant to confer
property rights.
► Clash with Trade Marks.
► auDA has a dispute resolution scheme
which applies to all domain names
registered or renewed from 1 August 2002.
► ICANN has the UDRP for .com etc domains.

35. Domain Names and other
business identifiers
► Trade Marks
► Personality Rights
► Place Names
► Tension with domain names
 Reverse domain name hijacking
 cybersquatting