NICHOLAS J. DASIOS, ESQ.

BARRISTER AND SOLICITOR · NOTARY PUBLIC

This material is not intended to provide legal advice. Readers should not act upon information contained in this material without obtaining professional legal advice. This material may be considered advertising under the Rules of Professional Conduct of the Law Society of Upper Canada.

“Issues abound when establishing and maintaining an Internet presence”

 © April 2002, Nicholas J. Dasios

Businesses face a myriad of legal and commercial issues when setting up an electronic presence on the Internet. The legal issues are often complex and without any definitive precedents or legislation to provide businesses with guidance in their successful navigation.

In the absence of any universally adopted worldwide treaties or trade agreements governing e-Advertising, e-Commerce etc., and because the very nature of the Internet lends itself to worldwide access to a business’ products or services, businesses must determine, amongst other things:

(a)   the legal jurisdiction that will govern their e-Presence, e-Advertising, and/or e-Commerce transactions;

(b)  which laws, regulations or rules apply to their e-Business, including those of other jurisdictions in which they may be conducting business;

(c)   if those laws prevent, restrict or regulate the presence, advertising, sale or export of their e-Business’ products or services; and

(d)  any potential contract, liability, privacy and tax issues;

As a result, businesses seeking to establish a presence on the Internet should review their planned enterprise carefully with lawyers before beginning operations.

Some of the common legal e-Presence, e-Advertising & e-Commerce issues businesses face when developing, implementing and running online ventures include:

1. Registering a Domain Name;
2. Contracting with Site Designers, Hosting Providers and Internet Service Providers (ISPs);
3. Registration and Licensing of e-Businesses;
4. Protecting & Exploiting Intellectual Property Rights;
5. Identifying & Dealing with Internet Marketing Issues;
6. Identifying & Dealing with Internet Sales Issues, including:

(a)   Governing Law issues;

(b)  Insurance issues;

(c)   Import/Export Restriction issues;

(d)  Tax issues;

7. Identifying & Addressing Privacy Issues;
8. Avoiding and (when necessary) Dealing with Defamation Issues;
9. Identifying, Navigating & Addressing Language Law Issues;
10. Identifying & Addressing Industry-specific Laws and Regulations;
11. Providing Legal Disclaimers;
12. Negotiating, Developing, Implementing & Monitoring Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) Agreements;

While the Internet provides all businesses with tremendous opportunities on a truly international and global scale, it also has the potential to open up a Pandora’s box of legal issues. 

Any person or business considering or already possessing an electronic presence on the Internet should carefully consider obtaining the necessary legal expertise and services required to identify, navigate and address the multitude of legal issues and regimes that govern their activities, as well as obtaining assistance in leveraging and exploiting any Intellectual Property assets they may possess to their fullest.

Nicholas J. Dasios practices in the Computer, IT, Internet, E-commerce and Intellectual Property fields.  He can be reached at (519) 679-2267.