6 4 May 2004

News:

Naomi Campbell’s successful appeal to the House of Lords after the Mirror’s front page article about her drug addiction has resulted in a “new” privacy law. For the first time, the UK has an actionable right for the unjustifiable disclosure of private information. Until now, the focus in privacy claims was whether matters were “confidential”, not private.

The Office of the Information Commissioner (IC) is working with Google over ensuring that the proposed Gmail service is compliant with data protection legislation.

The growth of Voice over the Internet (VoIP), the next generation of multimedia and telephony services, is posing a regulatory challenge for operators and regulators alike, according to industry observers.

The EU Commission is consulting on the collective management of rights and the future role of collecting societies in a digital world. In a Communication issued on 16 April the Commission noted that: ‘A lack of common rules regarding the governance of collecting societies may potentially be detrimental to both users and rightsholders… The more divergence exists on such rules, the more difficult it is in principle to license across borders and to establish licensing for the territory of several or all Member States’.

Features:

The soon to launch Gmail, from Google, and the rapid growth of internet telephony are just two of the latest examples of the renewed energy that is to be found in the e-commerce and telecoms market.

Intellectual Property Rights Directive

Distance Selling Awareness campaign

Lost or stolen cards

Directive on Privacy and Electronic Communications

Electronic ‘Business Order Forms

Dates for your diary!

Offshore outsourcing can offer considerable cost savings - a report by Deliotte indicates that some financial firms have reported cost savings of up to 40%.

However an offshore outsourcing relationship is complex involving the surrender of control by the outsourcer and unless it is done properly and for the right reasons, the outsourcing relationship could prove to be a costly mistake.

This article looks at some of the basic considerations which an outsourcer will need to address in order to mitigate the inherent risks.

E-commerce depends on the use of non-cash payments systems. The European Union is currently examining the most effective approach to the removal of barriers to the development of a Single Payment Area within the EU. This article reviews the Commission’s recent consultative document and the responses it provoked.

It is many years since we were first told that voice over the internet (VoIP) would transform the telecoms industry, bringing true IT/communications convergence and overturning long-established market structures. However, until recently, mass implementation of VoIP was largely seen as a thing of the future. But all that could be set to change.

One of the most interesting aspects of this convergence (at least for lawyers and regulators) is that it is taking place between a traditionally unregulated, anarchic phenomenon (the internet) and one of the most regulated industries on the planet, with its roots in the national provision of a core infrastructure. This article looks at the impact of European communications regulation on VoIP operations.

In addition to being an international financial centre, the Isle of Man has worked hard over the past few years to establish itself as one of the leading off-shore e-business centres in the world. This article looks at the advantages of setting up an e-business operation on the Isle of Man and the related legislative framework that has been put in place to meet the growing e-business demands.

Viral marketing can be a dream solution for savvy marketeers. But the power and speed of online ‘word of mouth’ promotion carries risks as well as rewards. This article looks at the growth of viral marketing and the regulatory and commercial issues it raises.