ECOMMERCE LAW

Take Essential Advantage of Ecommerce Law

The exponential growth in e-commerce or electronic commercial transactions has led to novel legal issues and challenges encompassed by eCommerce Law. Electronic commerce, which is commonly known as e-commerce or eCommerce, refers to the buying and selling of products or services over the internet. This includes online advertising, electronic funds transfers, purchase of goods (e.g., on eBay or Amazon or an app store), services and content (such as music from iTunes, ebooks for the Kindle), business communications, and using computers to access business information resources such as cloud-based software and online databases. An eCommerce law firm such as Neff Law Firm is a natural evolution that is necessary to help companies navigate the regulations that govern these transactions, create the agreements, online terms of use, terms of service and privacy policies that protect the rights of both sellers and consumers, and facilitate the purchase of goods and services via online transactions.

Ecommerce law is a new field, so its legal dimensions are still under development by legislators, regulators, and the courts. Rapid changes in these areas can have an impact on the way you do business. A firm that specializes in ecommerce law will be able to help a business identify the best choices available to it in the complex and ever-evolving eCommerce sector. Whether as a business new to the internet that needs advice on issues such as the collecting and payment of sales taxes across various jurisdictions and the drafting of valid and enforceable e-contracts, or a business looking to expand its existing online presence, a qualified lawyer can help.

Similar to “bricks and mortar” businesses, many aspects of online businesses are subject to regulation. ECommerce law governs these online businesses and their transactions. Commercial transactions can generally be broken into three stages: (1) advertising and searching, (2) ordering and payment, and (3) delivery. Ecommerce transactions, as online transactions, also must comply with privacy legislation as applicable around the world. The most basic distinction in eCommerce is the difference between B2B and B2C transactions. Transactions between businesses are called business-to-business (B2B) and those between a business and consumers are business-to-consumer (B2C) transactions. While most people are familiar with B2C transactions, B2B transactions make up the majority of online transactions and therefore are also the focus of laws and regulations. However, beyond these three transaction stages, eCommerce also encompasses activities such as electronic logistics tracking and business process outsourcing.

The amount of business conducted electronically has grown in lockstep with the extraordinary expansion of internet access and use. Increasingly, consumers and businesses use the internet to research and purchase products and locate service providers. Likewise, the internet helps companies reach new markets and expand their consumer base. As such, contacting an ecommerce law firm can help any business familiarize itself with regulations, identify potential risks, and handle problems as they arise. It is particularly useful to use an ecommerce law firm in connection with startup companies, which need to put in place proper terms and conditions of service or use, privacy policies, and ensure adequate protection of their copyrights and trademarks. Moreover, ecommerce law, because it uses the internet, knows no national boundaries. Consequently, a good ecommerce law firm such as Neff Law Firm has vast experience in cross-border transactions and how to avoid running afoul of laws in other countries.

From advising a business on every-day practices such developing privacy policies and protecting intellectual property rights, to more complex issues of jurisdictional safeguards, cybersquatting, and internet fraud, understanding and applying eCommerce law is essential to the functioning of a modern business.