the law of e-commerce introduction to e-commerce law

The Law of E-Commerce

Introduction to e-commerce law

Who am I?

Deveral Capps

SUB 0012C

0191 227 3027

d.capps@northumbria.ac.uk

Lecture ProgrammeLecture Topic

1 Introduction to e-commerce law

2 Electronic Contracts

3 Electronic Contracts

4 Electronic Contracts

5 Electronic Signatures and Security

6 Consideration

7 Consumer Protection

8 Intellectual Property

9 Intellectual Property

10 Jurisdiction and Crime

Seminar Programme

Workshop Topic

1 Electronic Contracts

2 Electronic Signatures and Security and Electronic Payments

3 Consumer Protection for electronic contracts

4 Intellectual Property and E-commerce

5 Jurisdictional issues and electronic crime

Books

There are numerous books available on the topic of e-commerce, many are out of date.

If any new books are published over the duration of this course, I will inform you.

Books

Encyclopedia of Information Technology Law, Sweet and Maxwell, London

M Chissick & A Kelman, Electronic Commerce – Law and Practice, Sweet and Maxwell, London

L Edwards & C Waelde, Law & the Internet, a framework for electronic commerce, 2nd Edition, Hart Publishing, Oxford, 2000.

C Gringras, The Laws of the Internet, Butterworths, London

J Philips, Ed., Butterworths Information Technology Handbook, Butterworths, London

C Reed, Internet Law: Text and Materials, Butterworths, London

Books (cont’d)

C Reed & J Angel, Eds., Computer Law, 4th Edition, Oxford University Press, Oxford

D Rowland & E Macdonald, Information Technology Law, 2nd Edition, Cavendish Publishing, London, 2000

S Singleton, E-Commerce: A Practical Guide to the Law, Gower, Aldershot, 2001

P Todd, Electronic Commerce Law, Cavendish Publishing, 2005

Online Materials

You will need to supplement your study with reference to online materials.

Westlaw has a good range of electronic journals.

Numerous other updaters for e-commerce law.

Definitions

What is meant by the term e-commerce?

“The concept of electronic commerce can be defined as using an electronic network to simplify and speed up all stages of the business process, from design and making to buying, selling and delivering” – DTI 1999.

Further definitions

“at its simplest, e-commerce is the buying or selling of goods and services of any kind on the Internet”

Irish Revenue Commissioner 1999

e-commerce at its simplest

“E-commerce is the term used to describe the electronic creation of a contract, normally which is for goods or services”

How can e-commerce be effected?

E-commerce can be effected in two main ways.

1. Via the Internet.

2. Via an electronic mail system (including EDI type systems)

Who takes part in e-commerce?

E-commerce is undertaken by two main recognisable groups.

Consumers

Business

How do these groups interact?

1. Business to Business (B2B)

2. Business to Consumer (B2C)

3. Consumer to Consumer (C2C)

Why do e-commerce?

There is only one reason why businesses like e-commerce.

Profits

Why do e-commerce?

Profits are increased because of the benefits of Internet shopping for consumers. These are:

24/7 opening which means utter flexibility; Worldwide market; and Cost/price of the goods.

Why do e-commerce?

There is a belief that goods bought from the Internet are cheaper.

This is not always so.

However, business overheads are often lower.

Why do e-commerce?

Why are overheads lower? These apply to internet only businesses.

- No shop space required – saving rent, insurance, lights, heating.

- Fewer staff required – saving wages, staff training, insurance.

Straw Poll

How many of you have bought something from the Internet?

This includes plane tickets, train tickets, CDs/DVDs from America, books?

Statistics

In November 2002, 1 billion pounds was spent on online purchases in the UK

Between 1st December and 8th December 2002, 2 billion dollars was spent on online purchases in the USA.

Statistics

2004 GBP 71.1 billion

(e-commerce Survey of Business)

Statistics

Online sales grow each year

IMRG estimates that UK online retail sales are growing three times faster than in the US.

Global Internet Usage 2002

Africa 6.31 million

Asia/Pacific 187.24 million

Europe 190.91 million

Middle East 5.12 million

Canada & USA 182.67 million

Latin America 33.35 million

World Total 605.60 million

Internet Usage StatisticsCountry August 2005

Australia 9,881,438

Brazil 11,630,195

France 15,278,597

Germany 29,576,985

Italy 16,231,011

Japan 39,001,846

Spain 9,846,290

Sweden 4,700,804

Switzerland 3,501,981

United Kingdom 22,792,544

United States 140,589,403

Current Internet Usage

1.08 billion

(Computer Industry Almanac)

Projection for 2010 - 1.8 billion

Access to the Internet

A year ago, only 46% of Internet users in the UK were broadband enabled.

But growth has been sharp and swift, and now nearly 75% of surfers are using high-speed connections

Where do people access the Internet from?

88% at home

48% at work

29% at another person’s home

13% at a place of education

10% at a public library

How do people access the internet?

85% via a desktop computer

28% by a laptop

22% mobile phone

Email Statistics

According to Europemedia: Italians sent 70 billion email messages in 2002.

The research indicates that around 160 million messages were sent daily by business users, while home users sent 20 million on average.

More statistics

Italian employees spend approximately two working hours a day sending and receiving an average of 70 messages a day.

Email Statistics

550 million emails were sent and received by British households during January 2002 alone.

A third of all email sent is spam (E-Commerce Times)

Email Statistics

20th March 2002

“Email became more popular than postal mail in the UK, with the number of emails being sent and received from households exceeding letters.” - NetValue

The law of e-commerce

E-commerce covers a wide number of legal areas. Some of these are: -

- Crime- Consumer protection- Contract - Data protection- Jurisdiction and Private International Law- Intellectual Property Law

Development of e-commerce law

Given the global nature of e-commerce law, there has been a global response to the legal issues.

Europe has issued numerous Directives ensuring that all European States develop similar laws.

European Directives

European Directives have led to:

Electronic Communications Act 2000

Electronic Commerce Regulations 2002

Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000.

Blackboard

Full use will be made of Blackboard.

This includes:

Workshop materials

Lectures (electronic recordings)

Up to date book lists

Discussion Board