10 2 February 2008

News:

The UK government will implement legislation to tackle illegal file sharing by April 2009 unless internet service providers (ISPs) and rights holders agree on a voluntary solution to the problem, it announced through its 'Creative Britain: New Talents for the New Economy' strategy plan, released 22 February.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has fined Industrious Kid, the operator of Imbee.com, a social networking site aimed at children aged 8-14, after finding that its data collection practices violated the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), a federal law applying to under 13s.

The European Commission has approved proposals from the UK's communications regulator, Ofcom, to deregulate the wholesale broadband markets in some parts of the country.

Features:

It is important to point out that the UK government's plans to legislate unless internet service providers (ISPs) and rights holders agree a solution to illegal file sharing do not automatically turn ISPs into the 'internet police'.

New regulation to protect consumers of participation TV
EU tax reform set to hit European internet businesses
European Commission announces review of copyright levies
Office of Fair Trading educates young consumers about scams

Over the last 15 years I have written various papers looking at the convergence between various technologies, most notably in the crossover between gambling, video game playing and internet use. In some countries, video game technology has been used in gambling products for a number of years (such as some of Loto Quebec's use of video game technology in lottery products in Canada). Conventional wisdom says that two things have the power to drive consumer technology - sex and gambling. These activities helped satellite and cable television, video, and the internet. They are also being increasingly used by the online video game industry.

Many virtual worlds created principally for children have become substantial businesses, even outstripping the success of virtual environments aimed at adults. In this first instalment of a two-part article, David Naylor, a partner at Field Fisher Waterhouse LLP and Andrew Jaworski, legal and business affairs manager for BBC Worldwide Limited's digital media and technology team¹, examine some of the legal challenges for operators and users of children's virtual worlds, including in the areas of contracts, privacy and user-generated content.

The European Commission has recently launched proceedings against Member States, such as the UK, which have failed to implement the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive by the deadline of 12 June 2007. Peter Donaldson, a senior associate with Hammonds, examines how the Directive applies to retailers, highlighting that as the Regulations are due to come into force in April this year, it would be prudent for e-commerce retailers to comply sooner, rather than later.

Outsourcing models have now moved on from cost-cutting exercises involving a single service provider to models that emphasise value and innovation involving multiple service providers across wide geographical locations. In this article, Peter Brudenall, a Partner in the London office of Hunton & Williams LLP, examines 'multisourcing' models and the key considerations and risks involved in the different model structures.

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (RPSBG) has introduced a new logo, which is designed to eliminate the sale of counterfeit and dangerous medicines over the internet by signifying that the pharmacy is registered with the RPSGB. David Pruce, director of practice and quality improvement at the RPSBG, outlines how the logo will work in practice.

Christopher Rees, head of the Herbert Smith LLP Global TMT group and Dominic Callaghan, senior associate, provide an overview of the latest key developments in IT and eCommerce in the EU.

Domain names: MySpace v Total Web Solutions
Privacy: Promusicae v Telefónica
Image rights: Grütter v Lombard