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 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.

All are agreed that the digital economy contributes to a dynamic evolution of markets and competition. Nonetheless, concerns are increasingly raised about the market dominance of a few key players. Because these companies hold the power to drive rivals out of business, regulators have begun to seek scope for competition enforcement in cases where companies claim that withholding data is needed to satisfy customers and cut costs. This book is the first focus on how competition law enforcement tools can be applied to refusals of dominant firms to give access data on online platforms such as search engines, social networks, and e-commerce platforms – commonly referred to as the ‘gatekeepers’ of the Internet. The question arises whether the denial of a dominant firm to grant competitors access to its data could constitute a ‘refusal to deal’ and lead to competition law liability under the so-called ‘essential facilities doctrine', according to which firms need access to shared knowledge in order to be able to compete. A possible duty to share data with rivals also brings to the forefront the interaction of competition law with data protection legislation considering that the required information may include personal data of individuals. Building on the refusal to deal concept, and using a multidisciplinary approach, the analysis covers such issues and topics as the following: – data portability; – interoperability; – data as a competitive advantage or entry barrier in digital markets; – market definition and dominance with respect to data; – disruptive versus sustaining innovation; – role of intellectual property regimes; – economic trade-off in essential facilities cases; – relationship of competition enforcement with data protection law and – data-related competition concerns in merger cases. The author draws on a wealth of relevant material, including EU and US decision-making practice, case law, and policy documents, as well as economic and empirical literature on the link between competition and innovation. The book concludes with a proposed framework for the application of the essential facilities doctrine to potential forms of abuse of dominance relating to data. In addition, it makes suggestions as to how data protection interests can be integrated into competition policy. An invaluable contribution to ongoing academic and policy discussions about how data-related competition concerns should be addressed under competition law, the analysis clearly demonstrates how existing competition tools for market definition and assessment of dominance can be applied to online platforms. It will be of immeasurable value to the many jurists, business persons, and academics concerned with this very timely subject.

The historic European Union Directive on Data Protection will take effect in October 1998. A key provision will prohibit transfer of personal information from Europe to other countries if they lack “adequate” protection of privacy. If enforced as written, the Directive could create enormous obstacles to commerce between Europe and other countries, such as the United States, that do not have comprehensive privacy statutes. In this book, Peter Swire and Robert Litan provide the first detailed analysis of the sector-by-sector effects of the Directive. They examine such topics as the text of the Directive, the tension between privacy laws and modern information technologies, issues affecting a wide range of businesses and other organizations, effects on the financial services sector, and effects on other prominent sectors with large transborder data flows. In light of the many and significant effects of the Directive as written, the book concludes with detailed policy recommendations on how to avoid a coming trade war with Europe. The book will be of interest to the wide range of individuals and organizations affected by the important new European privacy laws. More generally, the privacy clash discussed in the book will prove a major precedent for how electronic commerce and world data flows will be governed in the Internet Age.

Today, global competition obliges companies dealing in international trade to modernize their procedures of delivery in order to minimize the customs burden and simplify the relation with customs authorities. Customs planning is the current option to be effective in the worldwide marketplace. However, customs officials are facing new challenges: they must ensure the smooth flow of trade while applying necessary controls on the one hand, while protecting the health and safety of the Community's citizens on the other. To achieve and maintain the correct balance between these demands, control methods are constantly evolving raising major challenges to those charged with planning and compliance. This book is a highly practical work dealing with the ins and outs of European Union (EU) customs law. Cases of study, jurisprudence and comparative law support the analysis of the different legal tools. The consolidated principles ruling the transactions within WTO Member States applied in EU law offer the readers the opportunity to understand how customs rules can be applied in any customs jurisdiction. Authored by an international tax lawyer with extensive experience enforcing EU customs law as a former member of Italy’s financial police, this handy resource is designed to help the reader stay in compliance with the laws controlling EU importing and exporting while structuring transactions in a business-friendly manner. “This book is a reference work in the customs law field. It deals thoroughly and practically with all the matters that a customs law practitioner would need to know. This book works well both for beginners and experts, since both will find needed information and insight in it.” EU Law Live – Book Review by Darya Budova, Senior Associate, Uría Menéndez

This book looks at two technological advancements in the area of e-commerce, which dramatically seem to change the way consumers shop online. In particular, they automate certain crucial tasks inherent in the ‘shopping’ activity, thereby relieving consumers of having to perform them. These are shopping agents (or comparison tools) and automated marketplaces. It scrutinizes their underlying processes and the way they serve the consumer, thereby highlighting risks and issues associated with their use. The ultimate aim is to ascertain whether the current EU regulatory framework relating to consumer protection, e-commerce, data protection and security adequately addresses the relevant risks and issues, thus affording a ‘safe’ shopping environment to the e-consumer.

2011 Updated Reprint. Updated Annually. Europe E-commerce Business Handbook