E-Commerce Law & Policy

Volume: 3 Issue: 4
(April 2001)

News

The Information Commission has delayed publishing the Code of Practice for employers monitoring of email as a result of the submissions received in the public consultation. / read more

The European Union has rejected US Commerce Department criticisms of its draft model contracts for data transfer between the European Union, the US and other countries. The US Commerce Department had attacked the EU proposals as being “unduly burdensome and… incompatible with real world operations.” The Commerce department also suggested that “future negotiations for the financial services sector may be adversely affected by the Commission’s proposal.” / read more

The battle between Napster and the recording industry has still not drawn to a close. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) returned to court asking for an order that Napster should adopt more effective filters to filter out pirate music. / read more

Features

The web might be global but we are not. Countries and regions retain distinct traditions and habits (not to mention languages) that throw up practical disagreements over policy for the internet. / read more

Whilst the European Commission continues to struggle with proposals on how to apply VAT to e-business transactions (see E-Commerce Law & Policy, Volume 3, issue 1) the OECD has moved ahead to publish a detailed Report (Consumption Tax Aspects of Electronic Commerce - February 2001) which sets out guidelines for businesses and tax authorities on “tax at the place of consumption” for both business to business transactions and business to consumer transactions in digitised products. / read more

Steven Byers, Secretary of State for Trade & Industry and Chris Smith, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport published the Government’s white paper “A New Future for Communications” on 12 December 2000. They invited comments by 12 February 2001 and some 250 organisations responded. The Select Committee on Culture, Media and Sport conducted its own enquiry of regulators, industry and representative bodies early in the New Year, presenting its report to the House of Commons in the middle of March 2001. / read more

Part I of this article looked at the obligations imposed on Member States by the E-Commerce Directive, a central part of the European Commission’s aim of establishing a regulatory framework for e-commerce to flourish in the EU. Part II focuses on the steps which the UK government needs to take in order to implement these obligations into national law. (Refer to Part I, February 2001, for a detailed analysis of the provisions of the Directive). / read more

The use of digital signatures as a means to facilitate business on the net remains in its infancy. The national and international regulatory framework for this key building block in the development of B2B e-commerce is still under construction. This article examines progress so far. / read more

Perhaps it is simply a sign of the times, but Europe seems set to keep its feet firmly on the ground when it commences work on forging new laws on software patents, if the conclusions of the UK Patent Office’s consultation paper are any kind of indication. Not a little unlike the prospective investor who enviously eyed his pal pouring money into dot.coms, only to be caught stifling a sneer later when the bubble burst, the European institutions with responsibility for patent law are unlikely to have been impressed by recent events in the US regarding e-patents. / read more

The exporting of data from the EEA is prohibited unless the importing organisation meets the criteria set by the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA). The Safe Harbor Scheme (the Scheme), which has been up and running in the US since November 2000, aims to assure UK exporters that these criteria have been met by the importing US organisation. So is it still necessary to consult the Data Protection Act and check that the full rigours of its criteria are met before the data can set sail from UK shores to the US? / read more

With the advent of technology, the world has transformed into a global village where people all over can be connected by the mere click of a mouse. The global reach of e-commerce and the use of the digital medium as an alternative to the physical medium have mandated some necessary changes in the business and legal landscape of the commercial world. This two-part article examines the e-commerce scene in Singapore and the initiatives, support and incentives introduced to ensure and encourage consumer confidence for conducting electronic business on the Internet safely and reliably. / 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