This presentation talks about the Legal instrumentation in e-commerce industry in International market. It draws attention towards major legal issues in this industry and I have tried to find out the best solutions of some of them

1. Legal Issues In E-commerce
INTERNATIONAL TRADE
LAW
AND
TAXATION
Submitted By
Ujjwal Joshi

2. Major Legal Issues In E-commerce
 Privacy
 Intellectual Property
 Free Speech
 Taxation
 Computer Crimes
 Consumer Protection
 Miscellaneous

3. PRIVACY ISSUES
Information privacy: claim of individuals, groups,
or organizations to determine when and to what
extent information about them is disseminated.
Right to privacy is not absolute
Public’s right to know superseded individuals right
to privacy

4. Five Principles Of Privacy Protection
Notice/Awareness
 Notice of collection practices prior to collecting information
Choice/consent
 Consumers to be made aware of options and give consent
Access/participation
 Must be able to access and challenge information
Integrity/Security
 Must be assured data is secure
Enforcement/Redress
 Government legislation or legal remedies

5. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
Intangible property rights In E-Commerce
Copyrights
Patents
Trademarks
IP Rights are not absolute
Perishable
Legal exceptions to allow public use at a specific rate

6. COPYRIGHTING
Protects expression of idea – not the idea itself
Example , pull-down menus cannot be copyrighted
Confers owner exclusive right to
Copy the work
Distribute to the public
Expires after certain number of years after death
of copyright holder
28 years in the US
50 years in UK
Generally, contents of websites are copyrighted

7. Patents
Grants holder exclusive rights on inventions for fixed time
17 years in US
20 years in UK
Innovation must be
Novel
Sufficiently inventive step (not trivial)
Capable of industrial application
Amazon sued Barnes and Noble for patent infringement (1-click ordering)
Priceline has patent on reverse-auction model – sued Expedia

8. TRADEMARKS
Graphical sign used by business to identify their goods and services
Type of IP
Must meet criteria of distinctive, original, and not deceptive
Domain names can be trademarked if they meet above criteria
WWF won first ever ruling against man who filed for worldwrestlingfederation.com

9. Free Speech, Internet Decency, Spamming, And
Censorship
Censorship – attempts to control material on the Web
Communications Decency Act (CDA) was passed by Congress but later ruled
unconstitutional
Protecting Children
Parental control
Governmental control
ISP accountability
 AOL does not allow hate sites
 CompuServe was forced by Germany to shut down 200 newsgroups related to sex
– CompuServe forced to shut them down worldwide

10. Spamming
Indiscriminate distribution of messages without permission of receiver
Spam comprised 30% of all AOL mail in 1998
Now down to 10% with spam blockers
Some legislation out there
Unsolicited Commercial Electronic Mail Act
 Requires all spam to start with word “advertisement”
 Includes name and address of sender

11. Other Issues
Consider on your own
Electronic contracts
Online Gambling
Validity of electronic documents
Time and date on documents across borders
Which country has jurisdiction over E-Commerce transaction
Can web site link to another without permission
Example Ticketmaster vs. Microsoft