The expected superior the expected superior economic structure is mainly influenced b y the above two factors. Ecommerce law and its legal aspects international journal of law. Purchase ecommerce law and practice in europe 1st edition. Protecting your brand, your assets, and maintaining a positive customer relations are all affected by your ability to understand and obey the law. Ecommerce fraud popped out with the rapid increase in popularity of websites. Starting an ecommerce business can be a legal minefield. A revolution in the way we do business understand how ecommerce has changed todays business practices discuss the positive impact of ecommerce on global society differentiate between the various ecommerce business models. During the first few years of ecommerce, the public witnessed many frauds committed over the internet. Ecommerce or electronic commerce is a term for any type of business or commercial transaction that involves the transfer of information across the internet. This applies in germany especially to the laws set out in the german civil code bgb and the code of commercial law hgb.
Ecommerce entails the use of the internet in the marketing, identification, payment and delivery of goods and services. The law of electronic commerce by alan davidson, 9780521678650, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. It also include intercompany function such as marketing, finance, manufacturing, negotiations and selling, that involves commercial transactions and use email, edit, eft, file transfer, fax, video conferencing or interacting with remote computers. Ecommerce and the law anna soilleux and katherine teasdale may 2014. Electronic commerce ecommerce is so new that legal, ethical, and other public policy issues that are necessary for ecommerces existence are still evolving.
Many virtual retailers represent a single company while others, such as top online shopping, represent a consortium of companies. The kit is primarily intended for private sector operators, including smes, lawyers, legal counsel, professionals working in the areas of trade information. Overview ip in a website contracting via the internet selling goods and services consumer terms what do they need to contain. Yet, such issues are extremely important to the success of ecommerce as they encompass one of the major pillars that support ecommerce applications. Legal issues in ecommerce nishith desai associates. However, taxes and trademark matters can have different legal consequences. Electronic commerce, commonly known as ecommerce or ecommerce, refers to the internet based industry of buying and selling products or services via electronic means. Laws governing business incorporation, business name registration, taxation, consumer protection, advertising, importing or exporting, product safety, product standards.
Among the central issues we discuss are defining electronic commerce, identifying the extent of a firms internet usage, explaining how electronic commerce can address the three strategic challenges facing all firms, and understanding the parameters of disintermediation. But being functional online doesnt mean you can escape legal matters. However, privacy advocates have argued that the numerical identifier may be used to associate online profiles with a users personally identifiable information. Thus, the internet has now given birth to yet another group of consumers.
Any form of economic activity conducted via electronic connections does not have to involve the internet and www three main components to ecommerce. There is no doubt that banks actively attending plastic card sales organizations and purchases services will take advantage of the ecommerce technology in. The internet is the most important achievement of the last century. Ecommerce uses a combination of internet technology, mobile commerce, electronic funds transfers, escrowing services, electronic data interchange. Taxation issues in a world of electronic commerce by dale pinto the australian commissioner of taxation, mr michael carmody, recently stated that. Limitations of e commerce can be technical like lack of system security, reliability, standards, and some communication protocols and non technical limitations like the cost involve in developing in house e commerce and the security of data exercise. Other portions of this article were published in conjunction with a seminar entitled legal issues of the online retailer in virginia, also through lorman education services. Slideshare uses cookies to improve functionality and performance, and to provide you with relevant advertising. Uncitral model law on electronic commerce guide to. To a large degree, however, they are separate pursuits. Online profiling is the collection of information about internet surfing behaviour across many different websites for the purpose of formulating a profile of users habits and interests. The current legal practice has paper documents and signatures affixed thereon as its foundation. Ecommerce provides a new venue for connecting with consumers and conducting transactions.
Ecommerce law the term ecommerce extends to all areas of electronic business transactions. Pdf legal framework for ecommerce transactions and. Ecommerce full text electronic version archive of european. It influences the development of ebusiness and, in particular, ecommerce. Presentation on ecommerce electronic business e commerce. Virtual stores operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. While marketers have long profiled large consumer groups on the basis of demographics, online profiling allows companies to collect information from individuals across a wide range of traits. Electronic commerce ecommerce is the buying, selling as well as advertisement of goods and services on the internet. Social and legal issues in informatics ecommerce cui unige. For this reason all standards which apply outside the internet can also be utilized here, in legal terms. Lets discuss the legal issues specific to ecommerce. Security concerns, spamming, web sites that do not carry an advertising label, cybersquatters, online marketing to children, conflicts of interest, manufacturers competing with intermediaries online, and dinosaurs are discussed.
A special consumer protection act is not available in germany. Being aware of and obeying the rules that apply to you as an online business owner is an important aspect of running your shop. Sphere of application this law applies to any kind of information in the form of a data message used in the context of commercial activities. As shown in table 1, the aspects of ecommerce fall into five activity domains. The main objective of uncitral model law of ecommerce is to offer national legislators with a set of internationally acceptable rules as to how the legal obstacles in the communication of legal significant information through paperless messages, may be removed and how a more secure legal environment may be created for ecommerce. Ecommerce activities refer to the activity of buying and selling by a company through the ecommerce platform the current regulatory status with respect to foreign investments in the ecommerce space is as follows. There are various legal issues associated with ecommerce businesses as well. Economic activity involved interaction occurs electronically the interaction crosses organizational boundaries. In its recent communication on electronic commerce, the european commission stressed that in order to allow for electronic commerce operators to reap the full benefits of the single market, it is essential to avoid regulatory inconsistencies and to ensure a coherent legal and. We just want to make money with our online store 3.
In such transactions, the products and services are sold through an electronic medium, without using any paper documents. They may sell their products with different buinesses, that is called business to business b2b or they may want to sell it to consumers, that type of ecommerce is called business to consumer b2c. There exists and rapidly develops a potentially huge market of ecommerce in the world. Tax administrators face greater difficulties in enforcing tax laws and maintaining their communitys legitimate revenue base. The purpose of this report is to identify possible implications of ecommerce in.
Legal aspects of electronic commerce munich personal. Ellen carson is the author and illustrator of a successful series of childrens books that chronicle the adventures of. Ethical issues in electronic commerce springerlink. Ecommerce is the buying and selling the goods and service through digital communication.
Within this 5cs framework, the activity domains progressively underlie one another. Legal aspects of ecommerce, doing business online article. In general, all existing laws that apply to traditional commerce apply to business conducted via the internet. Thus, the ecommerce has been generated by the most uptodate technologies of the passed century. Legal aspects of electronic commerce munich personal repec. Every five in eight companies are operating online, conducting ecommerce business. Issues related to distant contracts turkish law requires the ecommerce businesses to stipulate a distant sales. There are four common ways to deliver products based on interactions that take place on the web. Arabic, chinese, english, french, russian, spanish part one. Liesl briel from cyberlaw highlights legal aspects relating to ecommerce in south africa. He has taught internet and ecommerce law as an adjunct faculty member of the university of toronto faculty of law and lectured in the law school and ebusiness ll.
In other cases, calls have been made to establish a specific ecommerce regulatory authority. Expanding market which has become an international did these modern means of communication to be included in trade, by increasing their speed of termination lawful business. Thus, the establishment of commercial relations by computer or other. Uncitral model law on electronic commerce original. Both the statutory laws as well as the challenges in implementing them are discussed. Fortunately, judiths put together this guide to the key legal issues you should consider its a mustread for any ecommerce entrepreneur. Internet, extranets, email, databases, and mobile phones. The world is used to conducting business and commerce on signed paper documents. An ecommerce service provider often called the intermediary is a thirdparty institution that uses ecommerce systems to facilitate transactions between buyers and sellers in its online marketplace by collecting, processing, and disseminating information pavlou and gefen 2004. The global governance of online consumer protection and e. In general, all existing laws that apply to traditional commerce apply. This article discusses common legal needs related to. Two millennia of commerce has been based on the written document with its value authorized by the signature of a duly authorized officer. Presentation on ecommerce free download as powerpoint presentation.
With the advanced and increased use of online media, online business is becoming a fast emerging trend. If you intend to collect personal information about your website visitors, you will need to be registered under the data protection act, and to handle your data in compliance with the law at all times. Pfohl previously served as counsel to the united states senate judiciary committee, subcommittee on technology and government information. Such a market will be of a serious commercial interest to cis countries approximately in 35 years. Consumer protection since the ecommerce businesses rely mostly on consumers, the transactions are mainly based on these regulations. This paper highlights the status, potential and constraints to ecommerce development in bangladesh. Any word, name, symbol, device, or any combination, used, or intended to be used, in commerce with the owners permission by someone other than its owner, to certify regional or other geographic origin, material, mode of manufacture, quality, accuracy, or other characteristics of someones goods or services, or that the work or labor on the goods or services was performed by members of a union. Ecommerce legal considerations before you launch your store. The current dearth of neutrality and basic fairness in ecommerce taxation legislation will become more painfully perceptible at the heart of the debate is the principle that states and other local governments have the right to tax goods sold within their. Hence, the paper succeeded in identifying some of the issues and challenges facing the smooth operation of ecommerce in nigeria which include. Globalization and ecommerce are expected to chang e economic structure of nations. The chip was designed to improve security for ecommerce transactions and allow information systems managers to track individual computers across internal networks. Law in the world of ecommerce what does the law have to do with ecommerce. Ecommerce is a way for a company or business to start an online shopping website.
Pdf it is obvious from the foregoing that a critical analysis of legal issues, challenges and prospects of e commerce in nigeria has been carried. Ecommerce business alternative to checks and money transfer. Since business involves not only a legal mechanism but taxation as well, it. Starting an ecommerce business is, for the most part, no different that starting any other business. Pretail also referred to as preretail, or precommerce is a subcategory of ecommerce and online retail for introducing new products, services, and brands to market by pre launching online, sometimes as reservations in limited quantity before release, realization, or commercial availability. Please give me a sound basis for the answer to each question. Separate sessions were dedicated to the precontractual phase, the actual negotiation and conclusion of the contract, its performance and the postcontractual phase. Ecommerce data protection data protection is an area of the law all website owners should be mindful of.
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