E-Commerce Law & Policy

Volume: 13 Issue: 11
(November 2011)

News

The new Consumer Rights Directive, as approved by the European Union Council of Ministers on 11 October, has received a lukewarm reception from the online retail industry. / read more

The US House of Representatives is currently looking into new copyright protection legislation despite the law having already attracting strong criticism as to its severity and repressive character. / read more

Internet service provider British Telecom (BT) confirmed on 4 November it has received a letter from a coalition led by music industry body BPI requesting that it blocks the Pirate Bay website, one of the world's largest file sharing websites, while ISPs Sky, TalkTalk and Virgin Media have been urged to block the piracy website Newzbin2. / read more

Features

There have been reports in the media that India has put forward a proposal for the creation of an organisation linked to the United Nations (UN) that would oversee 'internet policy' at an international-level. / read more

UK
UK
UK / read more

With the growing importance of online advertising, courts have sought to balance the need for maintaining legitimate competition between parties wanting to advertise their goods and services and attract customers online. Decisions on keyword advertising have examined the potential liability of advertisers, users, online marketplace operators and internet service providers (ISPs). The most recent Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) decision, in Interflora v Marks & Spencer, considers keyword advertising using trade marks with a reputation and gives further guidance on the functions of a mark, as Rachel Fetches and Emily Peters, of Bird & Bird, discuss. / read more

The principle of network neutrality, whereby there are no restrictions placed on any type of internet content, method of communication or application, appears to be a controversial issue in many jurisdictions, not least in the US where it has turned into a political debate. While some other countries have actually implemented laws promoting net neutrality - as have Chile and the Netherlands, for example - the US is still very much deciding the best way forward to manage online traffic. Bennet Kelley, Founder of the Internet Law Center, examines how net neutrality has not only become an economic and ideological debate in the US, but has turned into a political battle. / read more

"We updated the EU TV rules to make Europe's audiovisual industry more competitive," Digital Agenda Commissioner Viviane Reding said in 2009, the year marked as the deadline for implementation of the Audiovisual Media Services (AVMS) Directive. "There can be no excuse for any more delay with their implementation." The 2007 AVMS Directive was intended to cover the provision of internet TV and ondemand services throughout the EU. However, what was intended as a harmonisation directive actually partially ended up creating confusion in Member States as to how it should be implemented in practice, as Rachael Hammond and Melanie Shefford, of Olswang LLP, discuss. / read more

Can the US Government access the data of businesses that outsource their IT systems? This is a question that has special relevance in light of the 'Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001' (commonly referred to as the USA Patriot Act or simply 'the Patriot Act'), a piece of legislation enacted after the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks which eases the restrictions over US authorities gathering data. However, because of its potential extra-territorial application, the USA Patriot Act has caused some controversy in the EU, as EU companies can potentially be caught by its broad scope, as Benjamin May, Partner at Aramis Cabinet d'Avocats, discusses. / read more

In the L'Oréal case, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) held that when a trade mark is displayed in an offer by a seller on an online marketplace in an infringing manner, it is the seller that uses and, therefore, infringes the trade mark and not the operator of the site - here, eBay. / read more

Many law firms are facing new challenges in the wake of the Legal Services Act, which came into force in October 2011. E-Commerce Law & Policy spoke to Peter Fleming, Business Director Legal Services at Huthwaite International, and Steve Arundale, Head of Professional Sectors and Financial Institutions at the Royal Bank of Scotland in the UK, to have their views on the growth of 'e-lawyering' and the likely changes to the landscape in the provision of high street legal services. / read more

Mobile apps: US v W3 Innovations, LLC
Broadcasting: Premier League v Karen Murphy
Flash cookies: Bose v Interclick / read more

Recent Searches:
telephone   osborne clarke   communications bill   twitter   nominet   paypal   Developments in intermediary liability   Olswang   Burges   defamation  

Popular Searches:
markmonitor   ireland   Ireland   ireland   uspto   uspto   latss   latss   office of fair trading   office of fair trading  

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