7 1 January 2005

News:

The appearance of a 27 year old Scottish man in court this week charged with carrying out Denial of Service (DoS) attacks as part of an extortion campaign will see the Computer Misuse Act 1990 on trial too. Some experts believe that the offences created by the Act; unauthorised access to computer material; unauthorised modification of such material and unauthorised access with intent to commit or facilitate commission of further offences do not capture DoS attacks. Their argument is that there is no access to or modification of data as required by the Act.

Online sales grew 20% this Christmas bringing Christmas cheer to internet retailers. High street sales growth failed to match internet growth. Richard Hyman of Verdict retail consultancy says the high street “lost out to the internet this Christmas”. He believes internet sales are growing “faster than out-of-town, the high street, shopping centres..”.

The EU Commission approved on December 27 model terms for data transfer developed by a number of business organisations. The Commission decision is effective as from 1 April 2005, although it seems likely that many supervisory authorities will allow use of the terms before then.

Features:

The record online sales notched up over Christmas is just the latest indication of how e-commerce is beginning to match its promise.

It seems that it is almost every day now that my morning struggle in to work on the Victoria line is rewarded with the news that some clever over - achieving, under - washed boffin has already shifted the paradigm within which I am supposed to run the in-house legal practice. Months after it was first implemented (and usually when the technology is on the verge of becoming obsolete) I find out about the new hegemony, more often than not when a large amount of money is involved, and it dawns on a bright spark to scream for legal. Only then do I have the time to retrospectively consider the regulatory impact of that new process/technology/policy. This, even with the benefit of hindsight, is no easy job.

Using the internet for advertising and commerce raises a number of trade mark issues, from initial considerations of registration, through to complicated issues of enforcement. There are a number of avenues, other than reliance on trade marks alone, that may also benefit businesses operating on line. This article will briefly consider the law in relation to trade marks generally, and consider specific issues relating to using such marks in a global marketplace.

The popularity of games such as Everquest, which takes place in the virtual nation of Norrathhas has some interesting real world repercussions. Brokers are now exploiting the virtual assets used to play the game and a sweat shop has been set up where workers were paid low wages to play online games, creating assets for sale to the US market. This article examines some of the new legal issues relevant to such virtual gaming.

The launch of Apple’s highly successful iPod has seen competitors challenging Apple’s behaviour as anti-competitive on the basis that it abused a position of dominance. This article examines to what extent the launch of a new product might raise competition issues and what competitors will need to show to succeed in such a challenge.

A recent court of Appeal decision has made clear the scope of a seller’s obligations when delivering goods. For online retailers the decision provides a useful reminder to look again at their contractual terms, their delivery policies and appropriate credit checks.

Microsoft ordered to comply with Competition Law sanctions

Annual report on the Communications Market

Declaration of the Article 29 Working Party on Enforcement

Vote on Software Patent Directive delayed again

Contract: Apple Corps Limited v Apple Computer Inc

Data Protection: Johnson v MDU [2004] EWHC 2509 (Ch) 9 November 2004

Distance Selling: Case C-336/03 (EasyCar)