E-Commerce Law & Policy

Volume: 11 Issue: 1
(January 2009)

News

The Isle of Man, which is not part of the European Union, is to introduce a charge payable by internet users to internet service providers (ISPs) to compensate rights holders for music content downloaded for free. / read more

The Supreme Court of the State of New York dismissed a claim made by Amazon.com that a provision within the New York State Tax Law - which made online transactions subject to State sales tax if companies used affiliates based within the State - violates the US Constitution. The Court dismissed Amazon's claim that the commission-agreement provision, which subjects transactions by online retailers to State sales tax if companies use New York-based contractors or individuals to solicit sales, 'violates the Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution'. It ruled on 12 January that Amazon must continue to collect sales tax from its New York customers. / read more

A Turkish administrative court has rejected a request from K2Network to put on hold a ban of one of its online games from being played in public places, such as internet cafes, in light of an investigation into online gaming that found that K2Network had not paid tax on profits generated by the game. / read more

Features

The Isle of Man's plans to waive music copyright infringement in favour of a blanket charge on all internet users represent a novel approach, but it will be interesting to see if and how the plans develop into a concrete proposal. The plan acknowledges that most online music is downloaded illegally, however fails to recognise legitimate business models such as iTunes, which succeeds because of ease of use, but also because musicians receive revenue from iTunes sales, which responsible users recognise. The danger with a blanket charge is that many could abandon such sites in favour of free downloads. / read more

Government fails to find agreement on filesharing solutions
Data protection round-up
Dates for your diary / read more

The Prioritizing Resources and Organization for Intellectual Property Act of 2008 - designed to enhance civil and criminal laws against counterfeiting and piracy - was recently signed into law. James Gatto and Tyson Winarski, of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP, examine the law and Congress's goals in implementing it. / read more

The New York legislature has recently toughened a penal statute that criminalised actively using another person's identity online to make the mere act of impersonating another person online a criminal offence. Scott E. Hershman, a Partner with Hunton & Williams, examines the practical significance that this small change could have in allowing prosecutors to pre-empt potential internet ID fraudsters before any harm is done. / read more

The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) recently decided to block an entire Wikipedia page for featuring a naked image of a young girl, rather than blocking the image itself. Steven Fullman and Anna Imrie, of Jeffrey Green Russell, examine the case, the IWF's decision to reinstate the page and its resources in policing the internet against illegal content. / read more

In Roadshow Films Pty Limited & Ors v iiNet Limited, seven major film studios have commenced proceedings against a leading internet service providers (ISP) for copyright infringements committed by the ISP's subscribers. Jamie Nettleton, Mandy Chapman and Jenny Kojevnikov examine to what extent Australian ISPs can be held liable for copyright infringement committed by their users, including how untested amendments to Australian copyright laws may be interpreted by the courts. / read more

A recently introduced law in Hungary requires internet service providers (ISPs), TV and mobile operators to clearly state their target speeds for delivery of electronic communication services. Dr. Balázs Kökény and Dr. Márton Domokos, of CMS Cameron McKenna LLP, examine the obligations that this places on ISPs in terms of publishing, implementing and measuring upload and download speeds, and potential issues that could arise in relation to the new legislation, such as maintaining consistent delivery speeds. / read more

RIPA: 'R v S and A'
Database right: 'Directmedia Publishing v Albert-Ludwigs University'
Software patents: 'In Re Bilski and Warsaw' / read more

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About E-Commerce Law & Policy:

The monthly law journal giving authoratitive insights into all aspects of e-commerce law and regulations affecting online business, including domain names, Intellectual property, copyrights, online advertising, behavourial advertising, cloud computing, net neutrality, privacy, cybercrime, social media, trademarks, online sales, licensing and software / read more