Volume 7 No. 4
Foreword
Chapter 1: Setting the
Scene - The Internet, the World Wide Web and Cyberspace
Introduction
From Armageddon to
Shopping Mall - The Commercialisation of Cyberspace
Early Days
The Emergence of the WWW
Regulation of the Internet
IP Numbers and Domain Names
Administration of Domain Names
Regulatory Agencies
Trademark Issues in Cyberspace
Domain Name Hijacking
Trademarks and the WWW
Infringement of Trademarks
Passing Off
Internet-Related Trademark Disputes
Honest Concurrent Use
Do Trademarks Have a Future in Cyberspace?
The Commercialisation of Cyberspace
Why is the Internet Valuable for
Commercial Users?
The Scale of Internet
Commerce
From EDI to Electronic Commerce
Chapter 2: Tax and the Internet
Introduction
Principles of Tax
Law
Direct and Indirect Taxation
Direct Taxation
Source and Residence Taxation
Permanent Establishment
Establishment of Electronic Providers
Indirect Taxes - Taxes on Consumption
European Elements
The European
Single Market and Electronic Commerce
Alternative
Forms of Taxation
Conclusions
Chapter
3: Towards a Legal Framework for Electronic Commerce -European
Initiatives
Introduction
EU Initiatives
The Distance
Selling Directive
Unsolicited
Emails - The Problem of Spam
The Provision of Information to the Consumer
The Electronic Commerce Directive
Formation of Contract
When and where is a contract made?
Choice of Law Issues
Alternative Dispute Resolution
Liability of Intermediary Service Providers
Liability for third party
conduct
Caching
Liability for Hosting
Conclusion
Chapter 4: Security, Cryptography and
Electronic Commerce
Introduction
Requirements of Writing
Requirements for Signatures
The
Nature of Encryption
Enter Trusted Third
Parties
Encryption and Electronic Commerce
Conclusions
Chapter 5: The Electronic
Communications Bill
Introduction
Scope of the Electronic Communications Bill
Cryptography Service Providers
Electronic Signatures
Conclusions
Chapter 6: Conclusions
Ian Lloyd is professor of Information Technology Law and Director of the Centre for Law, Computers and Technology at the University of Strathclyde. He has written a number of books and numerous articles on the topic of Information Technology law. Ian is editor of the International Journal of Law and Information Technology Law and is a member of the European Commission's Legal Advisory Board on the Information Market and of the Council of the Society for Computers and Law.
In 1994, Ian Lloyd and Moira Simpson authored an issue of Hume Papers on Public Policy which was dedicated to Law on the Electronic Frontier. At that time most interest was in data protection as it affected data-base management and in the intellectual property dimension of computer software. Since then, however, there has been a phenomenal development of the internet and its associated World Wide Web. The outcome has been the emergence of an area of commerce, commonly known as electronic commerce or e-commerce, which was unthought of only a few years ago. Not only is this area already assuming major empirical importance in the way that we do business but it has raised legal issues that require the revision of existing law and the passage of new laws. The David Hume Institute is delighted that Ian Lloyd has produced this new work which presents a comprehensive and up to date consideration of the legal aspects of these developments.
The work includes a most helpful introductory chapter which both sets the scene in terms of highlighting the enormous growth in e-commerce and also explains, in understandable terms, the basic technical nomenclature and the operating considerations that are essential to comprehension in this field. A second chapter tackles the thorny issue of taxation of economic activity on the internet. While some of these considerations are similar to those arising in mail-order business, the scale and the nature of e-commerce suggests that existing laws and tax treatments will not be entirely appropriate for the new age of e-commerce. In an area where activities so easily span jurisdictions, a degree of harmonisation is clearly beneficial for all concerned. At the European level, the most obvious manifestation of efforts to co-ordinate law in this area is in the Electronic Commerce Directive, but the Distance Selling Directive also has a direct bearing on e-commerce. These developments at the European level are considered in Chapter 3.
While customers in a restaurant rarely hesitate to hand over their credit card to the waiter at the end of a meal, there is a marked reluctance to trust such information to the internet (notwithstanding a remarkably generous level of security provided under the Consumer Credit Act). With the medium of the e-mail often compared with a post-card in terms of its security, this has led to an acute interest in the technical development of secure means of communication. The need for encryption arises not only in the area of payment mechanisms but also with regards to communicating commercially sensitive information, exchanging contacts, or transmitting copyrighted products. This is, again, an area in which government has recently taken an active interest, with suggestions emerging from the United Nations, the OECD and the European Union. The united States had initially taken the lead with a controversial proposal under which government agencies would hold encryption keys. This has since given way to the notion of ‘trusted third parties’ as key holders. In his fourth chapter, Ian Lloyd explains these technical points in an accessible manner and suggests the most likely way forward in terms of the legal/policy framework.
In his final chapter, Ian Lloyd examines the provisions of the Electronic Communications Bill that is currently before Parliament. This chapter pulls together many of the issues raised above by providing an overview of the current state of play in the UK on many of the important issues raised there. We are left in little doubt that while this bill represent a major change in UK law, it is only the first step in what is sure to be a comprehensive a lengthy process of revision of the commercial law to recognise the new realities of e-commerce. The David Hume Institute is delighted to be able to publish Ian Lloyds’ excellent contribution to our understanding of this new and increasingly important aspect of commercial life. As the author makes clear, this is an area where the law is having to change fast to keep up with developments in practice. As always, it is necessary to clarify that the Institute itself holds no collective view on these policy matters. We do, however, feel that we can recommend this work as a useful and worthwhile contribution to our understanding of an area of truly major importance.
Brian G M Main
Director
The David Hume Institute
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