6 11 November 2004

News:

Database owners and their advisers are studying last week’s ECJ BHB/William Hill decision to see how they can protect their databases after the court ruled that sui generis database rights protection is not available for databases which are created as a by-product of a principal business.

The European Commission is urging data protection authorities throughout the EU to suspend data flows to the United States if they consider there is a substantial likelihood that Safe Harbor Principles are being violated. The Commission’s much awaited second report on the Safe Harbor mechanism for the lawful transfer of personal data to the US from the EU, published on 25 October reveals serious shortcomings in the Privacy Principles model.

The High Court ruled on 12 November that consumers who use their credit cards to make purchases abroad are not protected by Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974.

Features:

The ECJ may have been right in its narrow interpretation of the Database Directive in law but its decision in the BHB/William Hill case is wrong commercially. The BHB spent considerable time, money and effort compiling its database of runners, riders and fixures. One might have thought, then, that the effort in creating that source material should be “rewarded” through protection under the Database Directive’s sui generis database right.

One-stop-shop for all advertising complaints

Information Commissioner’s powers are insufficient to tackle “spam”

In further news

Government publishes Gambling Bill

‘Claims Test Mark” scheme for IT security products

Dates for your diaries

Defamation legislation in this country is a fetter on free speech. I have no doubt about that, having seen its application in practice often enough (too often) in the many allegations of defamation in publications (such as books and customer reviews) that are regularly reported to me.

E-commerce is celebrating its tenth birthday. Clive Gringras, Chair of the ISPAs Legal Forum and Head of E-Commerce at Olswang, looks at the legal issues that have dominated the industry and looks forward to the next ten years and what we might expect for internet law.

With the youth market driving much of the development in mobile, this article looks at what is being done to regulate new services and considers whether it is enough.

Ofcom’s first year as super-regulator is nearly up. Before Ofcom published its own Telecommunications Strategic Review, we asked Natasha Hobday, Partner at Olswang, to look back and review the regulator’s first twelve months.

Four years after the introduction of the Distance Selling Regulations, this article brings us up to date on developments and changes to the law and gives practical advice on how to comply.

There are numerous Court battles worldwide around the growth and evolution of file-sharing technology. Whatever happens in these actions, the technology seems likely to have a profound effect on the way music and other digital files are distributed. Mark Owen, Head of IP at Harbottle and Lewis, asks where will it all end?

Regulation of e-money and mobile operators

One-Stop-Shop and other measures to simplify VAT obligations

New EU Data Protection Strategy

Revised Draft Framework Decision on Telecoms Data Retention

Proposed new EU Regulation to prevent cross-border rogue

Public consultation and workshop on combating “spam”

Review of copyright and related rights

New plan to fight payment systems fraud

Revised Commission proposal for new consumer credit law

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