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Virtual Organization E-Business E-business is a totally new trend which is developing as a mainstream reality very quickly and gaining more and more popularity. But conducting this kind of business is not an easy task companies have to face hundreds of problems which not always have simple solutions. The main problems a company may face while conducting an e-business are: physical risk, technical risk, legal obligations and procedural measures. The first problem everybody meets is framework and legal issues, which is actually a little unclear. Nowadays the Internet is the most popular way of communication which fulfills the function of a shop at the same time. The exponential rise in Internet usage and trading has not been met with the adoption of legal regulations over how to trade in the borderless World Wide Web.
However, the most successful e-tailers never wait for 100 % legal certainty. Actually, this certainty is almost impossible to achieve. In fact, the legal aspect of e-business is all about managing risks. It is important to ensure that the content of your new website is accurate and complies with current law. It is also important to regularly review the website once it is up and running to ensure that it continues to comply. E-Commerce Times printed an article with an interview of a partner with a law firm, who specializes in e-commerce and privacy law - William Baker.
In this interview he said that as the new legislation takes effect, more attention will be paid to consumer privacy and related issues of security. He added that sometimes privacy and security can be at odds with each other, which might turn out to be a legal challenge for e-businesses trying to strike a balance between the two requirements. "The security given to consumer privacy is the flip side of privacy, as consumers remain concerned about identity theft, " he noted. Internet sales tax has also been a very important issue for years, but the buzz about another form of online taxation may be about to burst into shouting. On November 1, 2003, Congress let the Internet Tax Freedom Act expire which could mean imposition of Internet access taxes after a five-year ban. "The year should bring increased focus on remote sales and Congressional efforts to renew the moratorium on taxes on Internet access, " William Baker confirmed, "not to mention the EU's VAT taxes. " Adding to the tax situation, last year Congress also failed to pass legislation related to online sales tax collection. Analysts and government observers expect Congress will revisit the issue in early 2004.
In addition internet-traders face a great lot of problems connected with the right of intellectual property. Particularly, every company is to assure its copyright, trademark and patents. This includes: intellectual property rights that company owns or those that are licensed to this company and which it is in need to protect third party intellectual property rights, which the owner of a site needs to make sure are not infringed by the website the owners liability for the infringement of third party intellectual property rights by those using their website, for which they will need to limit responsibility (as far as it is legally possible). One more question that is of great concern to the majority of organizations trading on-line is whether or not transactions concluded over the Internet will be legally binding. As to this question, guidance can be taken from existing contract law, taking and using appropriate procedures and the emerging body of e-Business legislation. In this respect, Ireland, for example, has moved to rapidly adopt its Electronic Commerce Bill with a view to providing legal validity for contracts concluded online.
Proper legal advice, a properly drafted set of terms and conditions can minimize the pitfalls associated with on-line commerce such as which country's law should apply to the transaction, ownership of intellectual property, payment and delivery terms etc. Moreover, the company is to take into consideration the terms and conditions, which have to be adapted to suit the online trading model. That is they have to govern the users access and use of materials on the site and terms and conditions governing any online transaction. The company may also want to consider including a term limiting the territories into which it is prepared to sell goods or services, where, for example, the company has a concern about the compliance with the laws of certain territories.
As to the data protection, which is one more important issue, under the Data Protection Act 1998, data must be processed fairly and lawfully, it must be obtained for one or more specified purposes, it must be adequate, relevant and not excessive, it must be accurate and up-to-date, it must be processed in accordance with the rights of data subjects, it must not be kept for longer than is necessary, appropriate technical and organisational measures must be put in place to ensure its integrity, it must not be transferred out with the EEA without consent. Certainly, this is a far not complete list of problems. However, as it has already been said, e-business is always a risk. No company can be 100 % sure that it is doing everything right. At the same time, it is always worth giving any idea a try take a risk. Bibliography Cheeseman H. , Contemporary Business and E-Commerce Law: The Legal, Global, Digital and Ethical Environment, Prentice Hall; 4 edition (June 19, 2002).
Miller R. , Cross F. , The Legal and E-Commerce Environment Today: Business in the Ethical, Regulatory, and International Setting, West Publishing Company; 3 rd edition (March 1, 2001).
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Research essay sample on Intellectual Property Rights Terms And Conditions