The document discusses the various legal regulations surrounding e-commerce in Europe. It outlines directives set in 2000 that establish harmonized rules for electronic commerce to provide legal certainty for businesses and consumers. It also examines specific legal issues regarding taxation, electronic payments, contracts, liability, intellectual property, consumer protection, privacy, and international private law in the context of online transactions and e-commerce websites. Complying with these regulations is important for any business seeking to sell goods or services online within Europe.

1. e-Commerce
Legal regulations
May 2015
Justyna Skorupska

2. Legal regulations for e-commerce
• The Electronic Commerce Directive,
adopted in 2000, sets up an Internal Market
framework for electronic commerce, which
provides legal certainty for business and
consumers alike. It establishes harmonised
rules on issues such as the transparency and
information requirements for online service
providers, commercial communications,
electronic contracts and limitations of
liability of intermediary service providers.
http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/e-commerce/directive/index_en.htm

3. Legal regulations for e-commerce
• Taxation Law
– What criteria may be used to associate on line transactions with the
territory of a country?
– How can double taxation be prevented?
– How do the direct taxes rules apply in an electronic environment, both for
businesses and for individuals?
– Do general taxation, VAT and custom duties regimes apply to electronic
transactions?
– What is the nature of supplies on the Internet? Are the products delivered
electronically goods or services?
– How can digital documents comply with existing administrative
requirements to keep written evidence of commercial operation and
registration in accountancy?
– How can the place and the time of the supply be determined?
– Are electronic transactions exports or imports pursuant the European VAT
directives?

4. Legal regulations for e-commerce
• Electronic Payments
– What are the existing advantages and obstacles to introducing
technical systems that enable electronic payments in an
electronic transaction?
– Are banking regulations applicable to issuers of cybercash and
cyber credit cards? Does such electronic cash constitute legal
tender?
– How can credit cards and other electronic payments satisfy the
legal requirements in electronic environments?
– How can privacy, consumer protection and bank secrecy be
fulfilled in an electronic banking relationship?
– What is the situation concerning the use of electronic negotiable
documents?

5. Legal regulations for e-commerce
• Contract Law and Evidence
– Which are the nature , parties and subject matter of the
contracts?
– How to enter contracts electronically?
– What is the value of an electronic document and a digital
signature?
– Where and when does the offer take place?
– What are the terms and conditions governing the contract?

6. Legal regulations for e-commerce
• Liability
– What type of liability could the various actors (service provider,
access provider, TTP, seller, banking institution,) involved in the
offering of goods or services face?
– What type of damages are covered?
– What are the causes of liability?

7. Legal regulations for e-commerce
• Intellectual Property Rights
– How to protect a web site, a domain name, a trade mark or any
other type of intellectual property right against illegal
misappropriation?
– How to control the use of protected material on the global
infrastructure?
– Which rights are concerned when downloading, viewing or
printing a protected work? Is there a exhaustion of rights?
– How can the rightholder expect to obtain remuneration?
– How can his moral rights be ensured?
– How should licence agreements be drafted?
– What is the legal protection of the integrity of ECMS?
– Is it possible to detect illegal use?
– Who can be considered as liable in case of copyright or trade
mark infringement?

8. Legal regulations for e-commerce
• Consumer Protection
– What general or specific rules must be respected when entering
a contract with a consumer or when advertising a product?
– What is the regulation of offers and marketing practices?
– What are the abusive terms of a contract?
– What type of information has to be included in a web site?
– How are the distance selling contracts regulated?
– What is the regulation of product and services liability and of
products labelling and packaging?
– How can consumers have easy access to jurisdiction and which
are the possibilities for consumer associations to defend
consumers interests?

9. Legal regulations for e-commerce
• Privacy Issues
– What are the applicable general and specific legislations?
– Can personal data be transferred?
– What are the technical developments currently undertaken to
improve the protection of privacy on the Internet? How do they
comply with privacy provisions?
• International Private Law
– What are the competent jurisdictions and the applicable law in
the following matters: Contracts, Liability, Intellectual property
Rights, Marketing and competition law, electronic payments and
banking issues
– What are the specific mandatory criteria in the context of
consumer protection?
– How can a jurisdictional decision be enforced in another
country?

10. Legal regulations for e-commerce
• The elements that must be clearly
pointed out on your e-commerce
website
• How to analyze your current website in
order to know if you are meeting all of
the regulations of e-commerce
legislation

11. Legal regulations for e-commerce
• The technological basis of e-commerce
is basically Web client/server middleware, or
what is called three-tier architectures.
– strictly Internet-related, such as domain names and
trademarks, linking and framing, clickware (and
shrinkware), and metatag use.
– traditional issues applied to the Internet, such as copyright,
contracts, consumer protection, privacy, taxation,
regulated industries and jurisdiction.

12. Legal regulations for e-commerce
• E-commerce site development, its
advertising, electronic transaction, money
transactions and such involve many legal
issues, which need to be taken into account
step by step:
• Before developing an e-commerce site a registered
domain and a registered trademark should be established.
There must be some copyright protection on the site. The
business must ensure that it displays the terms and
condition/policies within its site. Security involving the
privacy of a user's data is always one of the main concerns
while doing business online.

13. Legal regulations for e-commerce
• B2B and B2C
The major difference between B2B and B2C in
internet terms is the role of the B2B website.
There are many differences in ethical, legal, and
regulatory concerns between B2B and B2C.
– B2C generally has a much more rigorous standard to
ensure safety like f.eg. Consumer Right Directive
– There would be less potential liability on the B2B side, as
companies generally take more responsibility for their
actions than consumers do (and correspondingly less
lawsuits and damages on the B2B side).

14. Cyber Law?

15. THANK YOU!
Justyna Skorupska
CEO
justyna.skorupska@symcor
e.net
M: 781 580 484
www.symcore.net
eBusiness Consulting Sp. z
o.o.
Ul. Londyńska 25
03-921 Warszawa
NIP: 113-286-66-59
KRS: 469349
Justyna Skorupska
President of Advisory
Council
Digital Commerce
Chamber
www.ecommercepolska.
pl
Justyna Skorupska
Managing Director
FACT-Finder Partner Polska
justyna.skorupska@fact-finder.pl
M: 781 580 484
www.fact-finder.pl