The Law of E-CommerceIntroduction to e-commerce law

Who am I?

Deveral CappsSUB 0012C0191 227 3027d.capps@northumbria.ac.uk

Lecture Programme

LectureTopic1Introduction to e-commerce law2Electronic Contracts3Electronic Contracts4Electronic Contracts5Electronic Signatures and Security6Consideration7Consumer Protection8Intellectual Property 9Intellectual Property 10Jurisdiction and Crime

Seminar Programme

WorkshopTopic

1Electronic Contracts2Electronic Signatures and Security and Electronic Payments3Consumer Protection for electronic contracts4Intellectual Property and E-commerce5Jurisdictional issues and electronic crime

BooksThere are numerous books available on the topic of e-commerce, many are out of date.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

BooksEncyclopedia 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 (contd)

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 MaterialsYou 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.

DefinitionsWhat 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 definitionsat 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 simplestE-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.

ConsumersBusiness

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 PollHow many of you have bought something from the Internet?

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

StatisticsIn 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)

StatisticsOnline sales grow each year

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

Global Internet Usage 2002

Africa6.31 millionAsia/Pacific187.24 millionEurope190.91 millionMiddle East5.12 millionCanada & USA182.67 millionLatin America33.35 millionWorld Total605.60 million

Internet Usage Statistics

Current Internet Usage1.08 billion (Computer Industry Almanac)

Projection for 2010 - 1.8 billion

Access to the InternetA 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 work29%at another persons home13%at a place of education10%at a public library

How do people access the internet?

85%via a desktop computer 28%by a laptop 22%mobile phone

Email StatisticsAccording 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 statisticsItalian 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 Statistics20th 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 lawGiven 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 DirectivesEuropean Directives have led to:

Electronic Communications Act 2000Electronic Commerce Regulations 2002Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000.

BlackboardFull use will be made of Blackboard.

This includes:Workshop materialsLectures (electronic recordings)Up to date book listsDiscussion Board