5 11 November 2003

News:

The ‘Can Spam Bill’ which seeks to tackle the growing scourge of spam should be signed by President Bush before the New Year. The US marketing industry has welcomed the legislation as it maintains an opt out position for email rather than the need for prior consent

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has still to finalise its guidance on the complex issues involved in the regulation of e-money and the use of premium SMS billing. The FSA was planning to issue guidance before Christmas but the most likely release date is towards the end of January.

The European Parliament Legal Affairs Committee 28-0 vote for amendments to the draft Intellectual Property Rights Enforcement Directive has been criticised by the European Telecommunications Network Operators’ Association (ETNO) and the European NetAlliance for widening the scope of the Directive to cover all types of infringements of intellectual property rights.

Features:

The European Parliament has once again been a battle ground for conflicting lobbyists.

The Copyright and Related Rights Regulations 2003 (SI No. 2498)

The EC Directive

Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive

Electronic communications framework

Fighting internet fraud

Distance selling

Mobile phones and driving

E-money Directives

Protection for consumers buying online

Dates for your diary!

The Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations have been publicised as a key step in the fight against spam. Direct marketers fear the Regulations may cripple their role. This article looks at how the UK regulator is going to make the new regime work.

Most people should now be aware that from 1 December 2003 it is an offence to use a hand-held phone when driving. Many companies remain unaware of the potential liability of employers if employees commit the offence.

The UK Government has published a draft Gambling Bill to update the law and regulation currently applying to betting and gaming. The first part of the Bill was published in July 2003 but the main section was released last month. The Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell stated “our gambling laws date back to the 1960’s. Since then attitudes to gambling have changed and the law has failed to keep pace with rapid technological change”. This article looks at how the government plans to regulate remote gambling.

On 8 December the Court of Appeal handed down its eagerly-awaited judgement in the case of Michael John Durant v the Financial Services Authority. The decision is one of the first significant judicial interpretations of the Data Protection Act 1998 and has important practical implications for all businesses holding information about individuals.

A recent report from the European Commission highlights just how far many of the countries who are about to join the EU have gone already in e-commerce legislation.

The 2003 Rugby World Cup in Australia is just the most recent example of a host of international sports events which guarantee huge captive audiences for advertisers. For this reason, these events are high profile potentially big money spinner occasions which can generate large volumes of income for event owners, participants, broadcasters and sponsors alike. As with all aspects of sport these days, methods of ambush marketing are becoming increasingly sophisticated and countering that threat is a key element of organising an event. This article looks at the legal armoury available to provide protection from such ambushes.

The European Court of Justice decision in the Gambelli case has made it harder for national jurisdictions in the EU to protect their home markets from competition in the online gambling market.