Overview of eCommerce and Internet Business Law

Each year a larger percentage of business is conducted over the web, and today’s online companies face a multitude of legal issues related to their online presence, and as they conduct business over the Internet.  These unique and novel issues have given rise to the emerging legal field of eCommerce and Internet Business law.

What is eCommerce and Internet Business Law?

Internet Business law relates to those unique legal issues and challenges presented by all companies with any sort of web presence, including issues relating to their company website, blogs, social media, and related agreements with designers, web and software developers, web hosts and advertisers.

While all companies with any sort of web presence should address Internet business legal issues, eCommerce companies have additional legal issues to identify and address. eCommerce companies are those companies who not only have a web presence, but also buy and sell products or services over the web.  The added elements of commercial transactions, such as payment and delivery terms, warranties, etc., are in addition to the Internet Business law issues described above.

eCommerce and Internet Business law combines traditional legal areas of intellectual property law (patent, trade secret, trademark, and copyright), business and commercial transactions law, and regulatory law.  In addition, however, the unique and mercurial nature of business conducted on and over the web presents unique challenges not addressed by traditional law firm practice groups.  Thus, while the core of eCommerce and Internet Business law involves a blending of traditional legal practices, the combination of these issues and areas, as well as the unique challenges presented by the global reach of the Internet, make eCommerce and Internet Business law its own legal sub-specialty. 

Common eCommerce and Internet Business Law Issues

eCommerce and Internet Business law encompasses a myriad of legal issues and matters, many of which relate to specific types of industries or business activities.  Below is a list of some of the more common matters that companies with an online presence must address: 

Common Internet Business matters include:

  • Domain name registration and transactions

  • Domain recovery actions and domain name disputes

  • Privacy and publicity issues

  • Unfair competition and false advertising issues

  • Online advertising practices

  • Metatag use

  • Keywords and Google® AdWords®

  • ICANN proceedings (including those under the UDRP)

  • Online marketing

  • Online privacy and terms of use policies

  • Social media policy

  • Anti-spam policy

  • External links policy/agreements

  • Disclaimers

  • Copyright retention

  • Trademark usage policies

Common eCommerce matters include:

  • Compliance with COPA and other laws affecting eCommerce

  • Issues associated with website development/hosting and copyright ownership

  • Trademark and brand issues online

  • eCommerce businesses and projects

  • Trade secrets and online business practices

  • Linking agreements

  • General eCommerce law and Internet laws

  • Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)

  • Patent issues related to eCommerce

  • Click-through agreements

  • Database protection

  • Electronic signatures/verification

  • Website membership agreement

  • Compliance with federal and state consumer protection laws

  • Information licensing

  • Refund & returns policy

  • Export controls and other trade regulations

  • Warranties and Limits of Liability

  • Other online contracting issues

In addition to the above-referenced types of matters, there are a number of “offline” legal issues involved in eCommerce and Internet Business law, such as:

  • Outsourcing agreements

  • Search Engine Optimization (SEO) agreements

  • “Software as a Service” agreements

  • Copywriting agreements (e.g., web content, blogs, etc.)

  • Website design/development agreement

  • Joint venture/joint marketing and “affiliate” agreements

  • Technology transfers

  • Web hosting agreements

  • Listing agreements

  • Hosting terms of service

  • Website sales and lease agreements

  • Nondisclosure Agreement/Confidentiality Agreements

Special Issues

The universality and anonymity of the Internet requires online companies deal with a number of special issues beyond those faced in the offline world, such as the following:

  •  Because websites can be accessed from virtually anywhere in the world, compliance with a complex web of state, federal and foreign legal requirements and systems can present significant challenges.  

  • In addition, websites may be accessed by children, which are protected by a number of state and federal rules.  

  • In some instances, site users can post materials that infringe the intellectual property of third parties, creating potential liability for the site hosts.  

  • Some sites offer software and other technical data which may be downloaded or shared across the web.  These sites must ensure that the information is not exported in violation of US trade laws or obtained by terrorists.  

  • Sites obtaining private data and financial information are often the target of cyber-terrorists, identity thieves and other criminals, and must ensure their sites are secure.  

  • Finally, in the event of a dispute, there may be questions regarding where it would be proper to sue, whether the courts have authority over all the parties, and whether any judgment can be enforced.

Conclusion

eCommerce and Internet Business present a number of legal issues and challenges, many of which are addressed by various traditional legal areas.  However, the global accessibility and ever-present nature of eCommerce and Internet Business law require not only an appreciation of the interplay between these various areas of law, but also an understanding of the novel and unique legal issues presented by a company’s online presence.

Law, Internet & Ecommerce, ArticlesJim Chester