Legal Issues In E-commerce

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Submitted By

Ujjwal Joshi

Major Legal Issues In E-commerce

Privacy

Intellectual Property

Free Speech

Taxation

Computer Crimes

Consumer Protection

Miscellaneous

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Public’s right to know superseded individuals right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

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

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

Intangible property rights In E-CommerceCopyrights

Patents

Trademarks

IP Rights are not absolutePerishable

Legal exceptions to allow public use at a specific rate

COPYRIGHTINGProtects expression of idea – not the idea itselfExample , pull-down menus cannot be copyrighted

Confers owner exclusive right toCopy the workDistribute to the public

Expires after certain number of years after death of copyright holder

28 years in the US50 years in UK

Generally, contents of websites are copyrighted

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

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

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

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

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