The European Legal Framework Regarding E Commerce

This collection of essays by well known specialists in e-commerce and Internet law, drawn from both academe and practice, analyses recent crucial legislation which has created, for the first time, a legal regime governing European electronic commerce. The central focus is on the European Electronic Commerce Directive and its implementation in the UK since August 2002. The E-Commerce Directive develops a distinctive European strategy for regulating and promoting on-line business and the information society. Areas of the Directive analysed include contracting on-line, Internet service provider liability, consumer privacy including spam and 'cookies', country of origin regulation, and on-line alternative dispute resolution (ODR). Further chapters move beyond the Directive to discuss other important new laws in this domain, including the Privacy and Electronic Communications Directive, the Distance Selling Directives, the Electronic Money Directive, the Lawful Business regulations on employee surveillance, the disability discrimination rules affecting websites and the extension of VAT to on-line transactions. Both the European framework and the rules as implemented in the UK are examined and critiqued for how well they meet the needs of business and consumers.

The year 2000 was when the European Union issued its E-commerce Directive. This directive regulates and facilitates e-commerce in the internal market by laying down a clear and general legal framework favorable for business organizations as well as protecting the interests of consumers. This book analyzes the consequences of the legal framework for business organizations involved with e-commerce in Europe.

This unique text deals with the most important legal areas for e-commerce related business in most of the member states in Europe as well as the USA. Topics that are dealt with include: contract law, consumer protection, intellectual property law, unfair competition, antitrust law, liability of providers, money transactions, privacy and data protection.

With the massive explosion of e-commerce, and especially the use of the Internet as a transnational and instant medium for business transactions, has come a whole range of new laws and regulations - and, inevitably, a minefield of accompanying uncertainties and potential pitfalls. So what exactly are the legal issues companies need to address, and what are their implications in real terms for the business world? Find the answers in this groundbreaking study undertaken for the European Commission within the framework of the ECLIP project. With a brief to provide practical help for businesses and e-commerce initiatives, this series of cutting-edge reviews examines and evaluates the special rules designed to regulate the Internet - both at a European and at national level in the Member States. It also explains the relevant technological developments and evaluates them against the legal background. This is an essential guide for legal and corporate practitioners alike, as well as software developers and the consultancy community internationally. A publication of the ECLIP network

This timely and detailed book is a state of the art overview of Internet law in the EU, and in particular of the EU regulatory framework which applies to the Internet. At the same time it serves as a critical evaluation of the EU's policy and governance methods and a comparative analysis, mainly contrasting American with EU solutions. The book begins by examining the EU constitutional context within which the Internet is regulated and the various policy documents which informed the regulation over the years. It then continues to describe the basic instruments in each of the relevant fields, covering electronic commerce, jurisdiction, content regulation, intellectual property, consumer protection, privacy and criminal regulation. Each is observed as a framework through which the Internet is regulated. Rather than provide a comprehensive catalogue of applicable instruments, the author analyses their interaction. EU Internet Law will appeal to academics, students, and practitioners, and will be of interest to the legally-minded and legally-informed public as it discusses issues of general importance and interest.

For the last twenty years the European Union has been extremely active in the field of e-commerce. This important new book addresses the key pieces of EU legislation in the field of e-commerce, including the E-commerce Directive, the Services Directive, the Consumer Directive, the General Data Protection Regulation, and the eID Regulation. The latest in the Elgar Commentaries series, EU Regulation of E-Commerce is the first book to apply this well-established format to a dynamic and increasingly significant area of law.

Suggesting that the enhancement of e-commerce is one of the important policy issues in the European Union, this book argues that the laws of the EU Member States should be further harmonised. The European Union has adopted a number of Directives relating to different aspects of e-commerce which should be implemented in the laws of the Member States.

With the explosion of e-commerce, and especially the use of the internet for business transactions, the "paperless office" should surely already have become a reality. Its progress has, however, been impede by tha lack of sufficient information security and a workable legal framework. So where are we now? Can we really trust electronic business transactions to be reliable, provable and enforceable, even on an international basis? Find the answers in this ground-breaking study undertaken for the European Commission. Carried out by the Interdisciplinary Centre for law and Information Technology of the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, it provides a country-by-country review of the technology and deployment of electronic signatures. It also examines the legal and regulatory issues and the legal framework relating to their use in Europe and beyond. An essential guide for anyone involved in e-commerce or company/contract law Country-by-country review Thorough explanation of all related legal issues