The New Legal Framework For E Commerce In Europe

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.

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

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 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.

This book elaborates and updates a staff exchange that took place in 2001 among legal scholars from the Universities of Oxford and Leiden. Its insights represent some of the best-informed thinking on the legal aspects of this all-pervasive feature of contemporary society.

E-commerce and EU VAT: Theory and Practice Rosamund Barr, Jeroen Bijl, Nils Bleckman, Gijsbert Bulk, Ethan Ding & Matthias Luther The new EU rules governing online sales of goods and services affect all businesses that sell online to EU customers, no matter where the seller is based. This timely book, written by leading tax professionals from various EU countries, is the first to clearly explain the VAT compliance obligations and options that businesses and tax practitioners worldwide must understand in order to adapt to the new system. In addition to describing the legal framework, the authors provide examples of how the rules work in practice and illustrate available choices for businesses, with particular attention to avoiding pitfalls. Thoroughly describing the rules affecting place of supply, liability, and accounting procedures in all relevant contexts, the book covers such areas of VAT compliance as the following: • distinction between goods and services; • differences between imported goods and goods sold intra-EU; • filing and invoicing obligations under the new one-stop shop scheme; • reclaiming foreign VAT; • mitigating fears of fraud and hijacking; • distinction between business-to-customer and business-to-business transactions; and • navigating through appeals, mistakes, and adjustments. Also covered are the particular VAT variations applicable to transactions involving the major European non-EU states – Norway, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. The important distinction between the concept of ‘nexus’ in the United States state and local tax rules and ‘place of supply’ under EU law is also fully explored. Because a very large number of remote sellers of goods and services will need to understand and comply with the changes in the EU VAT e-commerce rules, it goes without saying that this book is indispensable to in-house corporate counsel worldwide. Tax administration officials, professionals in indirect tax management, corporate tax and finance directors and other tax professionals, and academics concerned with indirect tax law are sure to welcome this essential resource.

Can the rules of the European Union's E-Commerce Directive, which date back to the year 2000, continue to be valid with regard to the dissemination of content in view of the constantly evolving online environment and the changing role of platforms as a result of new business models? The relevant legal foundations in this respect at EU and national level are complex, and their interplay is often unclear. The resulting uncertainty about who is responsible and therefore liable for certain content requires a critical review of the current legal framework. This study, conducted by the Institute of European Media Law (EMR) on behalf of the State Media Authority NRW, analyses the current legal framework and reveals ways of enforcing the applicable provisions concerning illegal content. It pays special attention to the need for reform of the E-Commerce Directive in light of the changing role of platforms.