6 2 February 2004

News:

The Court of Appeal has overturned much of Pumfrey J’s ruling in the metatag trade mark dispute between Reed Executive & Anor and Reed Business Information & Ors.

The European Parliament has voted by 330-151 (with 39 abstentions) to support a proposed directive protecting intellectual property rights. Although this is only the first reading in the co-decision procedure, the Parliament has reached an informal agreement with the Council of Ministers, which should ensure that the directive is adopted before the European elections in June.

European data protection officials issued fresh guidance on 27 February in an attempt to harmonise in practice the rules governing unsolicited electronic marketing.

Features:

Blue chip companies are not the only ones to have moved effectively into the online market. Organised crime seems also to be waking up to the opportunities that the web offers for fraud and extortion.

Distance selling

Communications Data

.eu domain names

Data Protection Act

Ofcom publishes Annual Plan 2004/2005 for consultation

Ofcom publishes guidance for its Review of Telecommunications

Ofcom publishes penalty guidelines.

Guidelines to protect children online

Mobile Marketing Association publishes new Code of Conduct

The draft EU Directive on the Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights defied expectations and sailed rapidly through the EU Parliament. The price paid for such speed was a compromise which disappointed many in the IPR enforcement community.

Phishing, the obtaining of personal and financial details through online scams, is a growth industry. Banks have been a prime target with several recent well publicised cases. This article looks at how phising works and what can be done to counter the fraudsters.

Ofcom, the Office of Communication, is coming up to its 3 month birthday and it is interesting to see how the infant is coming along. There was a lot of optimism surrounding its birth; is it living up to its promise?

Multi-nationals face numerous issues when they export personal data, particularly sensitive data. This article welcomes the Binding Corporate Rules and believes that, combined with a pragmatic regulator, export of personal data should now be simpler and easier.

Ask anyone to name the world’s leading business centers and they’ll probably mention New York, London, Tokyo and Frankfurt. Among such illustrious cities, Bermuda might seem an unlikely counterpart. Yet, when you consider the island’s $173 billion insurance industry it becomes clear that the 22 square-mile British protectorate punches well above its weight. Delve a little deeper and you’ll discover that more than 70% of Fortune 500 companies have established some form of presence in Bermuda. No mean feat for somewhere with a population numbering a mere 60,000. This article looks at the legislative structure that has been put in place to support Bermuda’s e-commerce plans.

The European Court of Justice ruled in the Lindqvist case that placing information on a website located in the European Union is not a transfer of data abroad. This article examines the ruling and its significance.

Subject to certain conditions, and the efficiency of Member States in implementing the new VAT invoicing rules, businesses may now issue valid invoices electronically in the EU. This comes courtesy of the EU VAT Invoicing Directive (2001/115/EC) which was due to be implemented throughout the EU on 1 January this year. The aim of the Directive was to provide businesses with a single, simplified set of rules on invoicing throughout the EU and remove barriers to electronic transmission and storage of invoices. The UK has duly implemented the Directive under the Value Added Tax (Amendment) (No.6) Regulations 2003/3220 with effect from 1 January.