E-Commerce Law & Policy

Volume: 13 Issue: 4
(April 2011)

News

Europe's business community has responded negatively to a number of amendments to the Consumer Rights Directive (CRD), which were approved by the European Parliament (EP) on 24 March. / read more

The US Associated Press News Registry announced in March it was working on the technological requirements necessary to implement Mozilla Firefox's 'Do Not Track' (DNT) option - a feature integrated in the web browser that enables users to signal they wish to opt out of online behavioural advertising (OBA). / read more

A long-awaited regulation clarifying the scope and impact of a landmark July 2010 net neutrality law ('the Law') was finally published in the Chilean Official Gazette on 18 March, putting an end to the criticism and uncertainty surrounding the rights and obligations of internet service providers (ISPs). / read more

Features

Google's precious plans to create a 'digital library' with most of the world's books available for all seems further away than ever after a New York City court ruled on 24 March it did not approve the Amended Settlement Agreement (ASA), a November 2009 agreement between Google, the Association of American Publishers and the Authors Guild. / read more

EU
UK
EU
UK / read more

With AdWords in the limelight in the EU once again after the recent Advocate General Opinion in the Interflora v Marks & Spencer case (which will be covered extensively in Volume 11 Issue 2 of our sister Publication, E-Commerce Law Reports), the question of the power of online keywords is more than ever in need of an answer. In the US, those issues are giving rise to extensive litigation, as discussed by Christopher A. Cole and Lauren A. Teitelbaum, of Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP. / read more

When it comes to software, users as well as owner rights and obligations are often characterised by uncertainty and complexity. The questions of acceptance, enforceability and, importantly, of acceptance of the terms of licence agreements are crucial issues to which there are no precise answers, as there is very little case law on the matter. Mark Webber and Lee Rubin, of Osborne Clarke, discuss the scope and legal implications of licence agreements. / read more

The recent Consumer Protection Act of South Africa has been hailed by some as the most exhaustive and comprehensive piece of legislation on consumer rights in the world, dealing with issues ranging from direct marketing to cancellation policies and contract phrasing. Gerrit Van Gaalen, Partner at Van Gaalen Attorneys, examines how this new Act will change the consumer law landscape in the country. / read more

Establishing an online businesses can be a demanding and lengthy process. Following on from last month's article, which tackled the issues of website development and hosting contracts, Sam de Silva, Partner at Taylor Walton LLP, considers they key issues in respect of content and advertising agreements. / read more

With online advertising now accounting for a quarter of the total annual UK advertising spend of over £16 billion¹, the digital remit of the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has recently been brought into focus by an extension seen by many in the advertising industry as a welcome development². Tom Dye, Associate at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP, examines the exact scope of the ASA's 'significant' new powers. / read more

Applicants of software patents must constantly navigate an ever-changing legal minefield of potential pitfalls ranging from patentability to enforcement considerations to ensure that the full value of a granted patent can be realised. Brent R. Bellows, Ph.D., Member of Knowles Intellectual Property Strategies, LLC, examines the strategies that exist to protect the value of software patents. / read more

Patents: Uniloc USA, Inc. v Microsoft
Software: Bezpe nostní softwarová asociace - Svaz softwarové ochran v Ministerstvo kultury
Counterfeiting: The North Face Apparel Corp. et al. v Fujian Sharing Import & Export Ltd. et al. / 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