5 1 January 2003

News:

Email and web access are essential tools of any successful business. But the ease of use which makes both so powerful also creates a new class of business and legal risks. E-commercelaw&policy in association with FAST, the Federation Against Software Theft, is organising a Special Briefing on 20 March in London to identify the key risks that companies, directors and employees face and to advise on strategies to minimise them.

The Securities and Exchange Commission, the New York Stock Exchange and NASD fined five US broker dealers on 3 December, a total of $8.25million dollars for failing to preserve email communications for the required period.

Arsenal Football Club lost once again their claim of passing off and trademark infringement against Mathew Read, a football memorabilia seller, in a surprise ruling by Laddie J in the High Court.

Features:

The war on spam has moved up a gear in the US. Growing numbers of States have anti-spam legislation on the books, while the Courts are showing a willingness to impose substantial penalties on spammers.

Sex, harassment and gossip are rife in corporate life. Yet corporations adhere to the convenient fiction that their employees are whiter than white. I believe that such a policy is no longer viable. This article explains the problem and suggests that part of the solution is effective email monitoring. It sets out simple guidelines for the legal department to help the IT Manager to understand the legislation and how to steer clear of pitfalls.

This article sets out the context of the UK’s e-Government program over the last five years. It looks critically at the successes and failures. It suggests where further action will be essential to drive the widespread adoption of these new channels and to extract the improvements in service quality and reduction in unit costs long promised.

It is rare these days to find organisations operating an internal network without an intranet site. In addition, businesses are increasingly discovering the benefits of extranets, whether for use with their suppliers or other business partners (B2B). This article discusses some of the legal implications and regulatory requirements that should be considered by intra- and extranet operators.1

In what is believed to be the first case of its kind, the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, part of the University College London Hospitals NHS Trust, is being sued under the Data Protection Act 1998 (‘the DPA’) by a patient who is seeking to have her medical records altered.

On 13 December 2002 the DTI published the third in its series of consultation documents aimed at reforming the Consumer Credit Act 1974 (the ‘CCA’). This latest consultation reflects the Government’s commitment to remove any remaining obstacles to the recognition of electronically concluded contracts. It also aims to bring the CCA in line with other legislation such as the Electronic Commerce Directive (‘ECD’), the draft Consumer Credit Directive and the Distance Marketing of Consumer Financial Services Directive (‘DMFSD’).

The Information Commissioner has published a report on a study which seeks to assess the degree to which the operation of UK websites is in compliance with the Data Protection Act 1998 (the ‘Act’). The University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST) undertook the study.

Of particular concern to the Information Commissioner was the lack of data security and systems relating to the retention of information. The Information Commissioner has also disapproved of websites that contain statements on their sites stating that the organisation is ‘Registered under the Data Protection Act’.

This article seeks to provide practical advice for data controllers to try to overcome the issues raised in the report.