E-Commerce Law & Policy

Volume: 13 Issue: 12
(December 2011)

News

A draft 'General Data Protection Regulation', issued by the European Commission on 29 November and circulating publicly, would force e-commerce companies to make major changes to how they handle data, if adopted without amendment. / read more

The European Commission is setting up a single Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) internet platform to resolve all cross-border internet trade disputes within the European Union free of charge. / read more

If computer software contains the same functions as another program, it does not necessarily mean copyrights have been infringed, European Court of Justice (ECJ) Advocate General Yves Bot said on 1 December. / read more

Features

It is not very often you hear about conspiracy theories involving data protection regulation. However, since the leak of the European Commission's draft 'General Data Protection Regulation', there has been much discussion about why the document was put into the public domain - is it the work of an errant member of the European Commission's Interservice Group horrified at the broad brush approach taken to regulating data use across the European Union? Was a policy decision made to leak the document in order to 'test the water' amongst a close circle of trusted data protection aficionados? Or is there another, darker ­ more sinister ­ reason [insert your own theory here]? / read more

UK
EU
UK / read more

The Court of Justice of the European Union's has received a long line of references posing questions about the legitimacy of Google's AdWords program. In Part One of a series of two articles, Steven James, an Associate at Latham & Watkins, reviews these decisions and examines the current position regarding advertising using another company's trade mark as an advertising 'keyword'. / read more

A draft Regulation on the Protection of Individuals with regard to the Processing of Personal Data and on the movement of such data (General Data Protection Regulation) was recently leaked. Robert Bond and Dominika Kupczyk, of Speechly Bircham LLP, examine the Regulation's planned provisions and the impact they will have on e-commerce. / read more

The Consumer Rights Directive (CRD) was adopted by the Council of the European Union on 10 October and is likely to come into force in 2013. Sakil Suleman, a Partner with Reed Smith LLP, examines what the CRD mandates, the consumer protections offered by it, the effect these are likely to have on e-commerce and the built-in transparency requirements that affect online retailers. / read more

Net neutrality has been a hot topic in the industry during 2011. While the Netherlands and Chile introduced laws that require internet users to be treated equally, there is no such legislation at European level, yet. While the debate continues, Vanessa Barnett, Partner at Charles Russell, examines the main issues. / read more

The French government adopted a Bill on 11 October strengthening e-consumer rights. Marc Lempérière and Adeline Jobard, of Eversheds LLP, examine its provisions. / read more

Use of the internet in a social context continues to escalate and as such, so do legal issues surrounding use of social media. Duncan Calow, a Partner with DLA Piper, explains the findings of a survey conducted in partnership with YouGov into people's use of the internet in a social context and assesses whether the public and the courts perceive that social media should be treated differently to traditional media. / read more

Online sales: Pierre Fabre Dermo-Cosmétique SAS v Président de L'Autorité de la concurrence
Copyrights: Sony BMG Music Entertainment v. Tenenbaum
Copyrights: Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation v British Telecommunications plc / 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