IBLS Speaker's Corner : Internet law

Is there any web hosting regulation for foreign online retailers who want to ship products to US?

Gaby — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 13:02:00 GMT

I'm a researcher consulting for a foreign e-commerce business. They want to start selling/ship their products to the USA through their website.

Apperantly, it is requiered that they have its website on a server in US in order to sell/ship products to US consumers.

I need your help to understand if this is really mandatory. It seems very strange to me that one MUST have servers in the US.

Thanks,
Gaby

10 US Laws Every Domainer Needs To Know

IBLS Editor — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 17:03:00 GMT

IBLS Contributor: Rich McIver, Aviva Directory, richmciver@gmail.com

With top-level domains appreciating at as much as 94% per year by some estimates, it is little wonder that domaining is the new ‘hot’ industry in the internet world. But despite the rapid growth of domaining, there is surprisingly little consensus as to what industry best practices are, or even what laws apply to domaining. In this article we try to sort through the legal and accounting mumbo-jumbo to explain ten of the most important US laws when it comes to domaining and provide some simple and straightforward tips for safely navigating them.

Please click on the following link to view the full article:

http://www.avivadirectory.com/domain-law/

ASK THE EXPERT: Help! How Is Webcamming Regulated?

IBLS Editor — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 16:27:00 GMT

Ian Garcia of ClickDreamsOnline.com in the United States (Avon, Indiana) asks:

I am starting a webcamming service in Avon, Indiana, and hired a professional service to build my website. But one thing I wasn’t counting on was that when it came to supplying the content, I was expected to do this myself. I am not a lawyer, and my Google search was disappointing in trying to find one locally. The language in section 2257, privacy policy, etcetera, requires one. Can someone point me in the right direction in finding an office that can handle this problem, and can this type of service be handled over the Internet, or does it require my presence at an office?

ASK THE EXPERT: What’s The Legal Process To Remit An Award From A London To A Saudi Bank?

IBLS Editor — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 16:25:00 GMT

Salem Ahmed from Saudi Arabia (Riyadh) asks:

I need to know what is the legal process to remit an award from bank in London to KSA bank and how much it will cost approximately?

ASK THE EXPERT: Is it legal to include any geographical name in my website?

IBLS Editor — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 16:20:00 GMT

Yassin Mazzar from Saudi Arabia (Jeddah) asks:

Hi I’m soon to launch my website, and it contains names of different countries & cities. Is writing names of other countries, cities in my website legal? Thanks

ASK THE EXPERT: Does My Company Have The Right To Read My Email?

IBLS Editor — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 14:18:00 GMT

Wendy Garcia from The Philippines (Quezon City) asks:

I work for a large corporation in the finance department. In connection with the investigation of suspected embezzlement, my employer looked at my saved e-mail at work. Then, from some forwarded messages, discovered my home e-mail address, and convinced the Internet service provider to allow the company access to that e-mail as well. Does the company have the right to read e-mail at work? What about my private e-mail at home? pls answer my question asap thanks

Long Player: Five-Year Dispute Ends Successfully For BPI against CD Wow!

IBLS Editor — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 16:31:00 GMT

IBLS Contributor: Chris Scroggs, Wards Solicitors, United Kingdom, chris.scroggs@wards.uk.com, writes:

Last month saw the conclusion (or did it…?) of a long running battle between the BPI, on behalf of record companies, and CD Wow!, effectively fighting on behalf of consumers everywhere.

The story behind the dispute

The case had its genesis in 2002, when the BPI issued proceedings against CD Wow!, alleging that it had illegally imported discs into the UK, from Asia. That case was settled in January 2004, when CD Wow! gave undertakings to the court.

The allegation was that CD Wow! was buying discs in the Far East and selling them to consumers in the UK. CD Wow! accepted that it was selling cut-price CDs but claimed that they were all licensed to sell in the UK and that there was nothing improper, let alone illegal, about what they were doing. Not so, said the BPI, who felt it was a clear case of “parallel importing”.

Parallel importing is what happens when copyright material that is intended for a market outside the EEA (European Economic Area) is introduced for sale in Europe without the consent of the copyright owner. Such a practice contravenes UK and also European copyright law and is therefore illegal.

There was then a further flurry of proceedings in September 2005, when it became apparent to the BPI that the illegal importation of CDs – in particular the Live Aid DVD – by CD Wow! was still happening. In that particular case, the charity had been deprived of income.

The BPI spent some time gathering further information and then brought contempt of court proceedings against both CD Wow! and its principal share holder, Philip Robinson, in October 2006.

That case was due to come to court in July 2007 but in fact the court short-circuited that process and dealt with the case in mid May. That followed a four day hearing in March when the High Court ruled that CD Wow! was in breach of the 2004 agreement and CD Wow! was ordered to pay £37 million damages plus costs and interest, altogether totalling £41 million.

In the hearing, CD Wow! admitted to breaches of copyright law but put them down to human error in its despatch process. The court would have none of it and that evidence was unhesitatingly rejected.

The court said there was clear evidence that CD Wow! was committing widespread breaches of the undertakings that it gave in 2004. In fact, not only was it in breach, but even after the application for contempt of court had been pursued, in September 2005, the court found evidence that even then, CD Wow! had taken no effective steps to ensure compliance with the 2004 undertakings.

Trial Judge, Justice Evans-Lombe continued in his ruling that in “meeting the criminal burden of proof” the BPI had established “beyond reasonable doubt” that CD WOW!'s actions were a “substantial breach of the court order” and that it had “no tenable ground of defence to the claimants' claim for damages for primary infringement of the claimants' copyright”.

Although the damages enquiry was due to take place in July 2007, the court felt the matter was so serious it could not wait until then. In particular, given CD Wow!’s alleged failure to co-operate with the court orders for disclosure of documentation and for payment of security, the court assessed damages in May 2007. The BPI had then already obtained a freezing order against CD Wow!’s assets and bank account in Hong Kong.

The arguments for and against

The BPI’s case was quite simple: the record industry is a business like any other. Artists need to be paid and record companies need to receive a return on their investment. CD Wow! said (in effect) fine, all well and good. But…..you should be targeting pirates, in particular, in the Far East rather than us. All we are doing is selling a licensed product, at a discount. You still get your royalty payments from all the discs we ship.

The difficulty is that although it was part of the CD Wow! case that it was simply selling in the UK discs that it was entitled to sell, where royalties still went to the record company in question, an anonymous survey by the BPI and random purchases that it carried out, showed that the reality was somewhat different.

The BPI had made repeated test purchases of albums from CD Wow! Discs such as Robbie Williams’ “Greatest Hits” and the Live Aid DVD that were being despatched from Hong Kong to UK consumers, were not discs that were licensed to be sold in the UK.

Those were the instances that CD Wow! referred to as “a little human error”. Unfortunately for them, the court found that though one or two incidences of human error could be excused, the same could not be said where it happened, as it did, on a wholesale basis (the BPI produced evidence to show 33 instances in total).

On a wholesale basis, selling in the UK albums that were despatched from Hong Kong but that were licensed to be sold in the UK, contravened the relevant legislation and was a clear case of parallel importing. Whereas CD Wow!’s initial purchase of the CDs i.e. the bulk purchase, was legitimate, even though it happened outside of the EEA, when it resold that CD in the UK, it did so illegally.

CD Wow!’s argument was simplicity in itself. It was a Hong Kong based company. It purchased its products in Hong Kong and distributed from there. If, from Hong Kong, it sold a product to a customer in the UK, that sale was a personal import by that customer. That, it claimed, was not parallel importing.

The implications

The BPI disagreed and sued and the court in May 2007 resoundingly came down in the BPI’s favour.

Interestingly, the Consumer Association described the initial CD Wow! settlement as a “sad day for consumers and a sad day for e-commerce”. It felt that the whole purpose of the Internet and Internet shopping would be circumvented, if customers in the UK were not allowed to use the Internet to buy goods from abroad.

The BPI’s case is that there is no objection to that conduct, in principle. Its objection however is to customers buying whatever they like and ignoring the law of copyright. We do have some sympathy for the statement by CD Wow!’s founder, Henrick Wesslen, who condemned the BPI’s pursuit of its company. He said that at a time when the record industry was losing out vastly to piracy, it seemed ludicrous that the BPI could set out to destroy a section of the market that was actually making it money.

So where does this all leave us? Five years down the line we have a substantial judgement and an authoritative statement of the law on parallel importing and copyright laws. But… we are left with the uncomfortable feeling that free trade or, at least, healthy competition has been suppressed. If nothing else, we are still left feeling that consumers in the UK are still paying far too much for their music, now as much as ever. However, we may not have heard the end yet, as CD-Wow! says it will fight the High Court judgement in the European Courts if it can.

ASK THE EXPERT: What Are The Legal Requirements For A Downloadable Movie Business?

IBLS Editor — Fri, 15 Jun 2007 16:01:00 GMT

John Voelz from Tennessee (United States) asks:

I started a business that will launch online on the 1st of June. I am possibly looking for legal advice.

I want to make sure I have everything in order to be legal with my business and no government office is being very helpful. Nobody knows what they are doing with Internet business. No one can even tell me where to find information.

I will be selling independent movies via download. I will also offer DVD’s and other merchandise but downloadable movies will be our primary ecommerce.

I have an EIN and I have registered with the Revenue Department in Tennessee (where our business address is). I have filed for a business license with both the city and county. Now, I have a myriad of questions.

Can you steer me in the right direction for advice?

John Voelz

ASK THE EXPERT: Can I include links to European websites in my webpage without asking for authorization?

IBLS Editor — Wed, 16 May 2007 12:35:00 GMT

Nagy Péter from Hungary asks:

I have a problem and I hope you can help me. I would like to make a website where a lot of European services could be found. I'd like to collect links of useful services. For example, if I would like to place your link on my website without asking, is this possible? I don’t know a lot about Internet Law, that’s why I ask for your help. Please help me!

ASK THE EXPERT: What are the legal requirements of an online business established in NY when selling in the Caribbean?

IBLS Editor — Wed, 16 May 2007 12:15:00 GMT

A New York entrepreneur asks:

I am in the process of starting up an online business selling sneakers and clothing in the Caribbean. This business is going to be incorporated in New York, but servicing three Caribbean islands of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Grenada and St. Lucia. There’s going to be a physical store in St. Vincent and the online segment will ship items to St. Lucia and Grenada. I am a New York State resident. I would like to work with your company to set up my legal requirements.

ASK THE EXPERT: How is Online Store Merchandise Regulated?

IBLS Editor — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 17:22:00 GMT

Maricela Thompson of Falling Rock Star Records in the United States asks:

What are the laws pertaining to a retailer who has an online store that offers new merchandise but sent out defective and used merchandise to the buyer instead?