E-Commerce Law & Lawyers

Lawyers specialising in E-Commerce Law understand that every era of business yields new strategies and new ways of doing business. The internet has so radically changed business that the rules for corporate strategy have evolved dramatically in the last ten years. E-commerce involves many areas of law which regulate online commercial activity.

Lawyers specialising in E-Commerce Law generally provide a full range of e-commerce law services to help you comply with the various internet and data protection regulations, as well as ensuring your rights are protected online.

Services provided by lawyers practising in the area of e-commerce law generally include:

• IT  contracts – design, hosting and maintenance agreements
• Software agreements
• Hardware agreements
• All other types of computer related agreements
• Online terms of trade and terms and conditions and privacy policy
• Protecting your Intellectual Property rights
• Data protection and privacy issues
• Copyright protection and brand strategies
• Linking agreements, strategic partnerships, collaboration agreements and joint ventures
• Rights acquisitions and clearances
• Online betting and gaming, lotteries and competitions

If you need legal help regarding any aspect of e-commerce law, then please complete your free legal enquiry form on the right, or click here.

E-commerce lawyers are at the forefront of this rapidly transforming sector and can help you develop your online business strategy and successfully navigate you through the minefield of e-commerce regulations related to trading goods and services on the web.

From helping you understand website design issues and drawing up on-line trading terms and conditions to advising on website hosting and maintenance contracts and undertaking audits, E-commerce lawyers will give you proactive, commercial and cost effective advice at every stage of your business lifecycle.

E-commerce lawyers understand the potential pitfalls of trading on-line and keep up-to-date with technological innovations as well as the legal aspects of e-commerce regulation compliance, e-marketing and use of personal data and can help ensure your business maximises its potential in the e-commerce arena.

Expert e-commerce lawyers have experience of dealing with:

• website terms and conditions
• privacy policies
• website user agreements
• website design agreements
• website hosting agreements
• website linking agreements
• domain name acquisitions / assignments
• website audits
• compliance with consumer protection legislation
• compliance with e-commerce legislation
• cybersquatting
• domain name disputes and complaints
• online defamation claims
• data protection and privacy regulations compliance

If you need legal help regarding any aspect of e-commerce law, then please complete your free legal enquiry form on the right, or click here.

Australia's legal framework on electronic commerce

The Electronic Transactions Act 1999

Enacting the Commonwealth Electronic Transactions Act 1999 was a major step towards supporting and encouraging the development of electronic commerce in Australia. It contains rules applying to the interpretation of other legislation.

Basically, it states that a transaction under a law of the Commonwealth will not be invalid simply because it was conducted by the use of electronic communications.

The Electronic Transactions Act allows any of the following requirements or permissions under Commonwealth law to be fulfilled in electronic form:

• Giving information in writing
• Providing a handwritten signature
• Producing a document in material form, and
• Recording or retaining information.

The implementation of the Electronic Transactions Act was in two stages:

(1) Before 1 July 2001 it only applied to those laws of the Commonwealth that were specified in the Electronic Transactions Regulations 2000.

(2) On or after 1 July 2001 it applied to all laws of the Commonwealth unless they were specifically exempted from application of the Act by the Electronic Transactions Regulations.

The Attorney-General’s decision to exempt a law from the application of the Electronic Transactions Act is made in consultation with other Departments. The decision is based on the commitment to deliver all appropriate services online where possible. Most exemptions can be found in Schedule 1 of the Electronic Transactions Regulations.

If you need legal help regarding any aspect of e-commerce law, then please complete your free legal enquiry form on the right, or click here.

Uniform Electronic Transactions in the States and Territories

The Australian Government consulted with the States and Territories, to develop uniform legislation that removes legal obstacles to the development of electronic commerce throughout Australia. This was done through the Standing Committee of Attorneys-General in the form of a model uniform Electronic Transactions Bill 2000.

The uniform Bill was closely modelled on the Commonwealth's Electronic Transactions Act and mirrors the substantive provisions of the Commonwealth's Act. On 3 April 2000 the Attorney-General announced that all jurisdictions had endorsed the uniform Bill.

Each State and Territory now has its own Electronics Transactions Act. They generally mirror the Commonwealth Electronic Transactions Act with occasional small differences in definitions and some additional sections.

If you need legal help regarding any aspect of e-commerce law, then please complete your free legal enquiry form on the right, or click here.

Other laws affecting e-commerce

Consumer protection laws apply equally to online and offline environments. The Commonwealth’s Trade Practices Act 1974 and the Australian Security and Investment Commission Act 2001 apply regardless of whether a transaction is conducted through electronic or conventional means.

The Commonwealth’s Privacy Act 1988 regulates the collection and handling of personal information by Commonwealth government agencies, large private sector organisations as well as health care services providers and organisations that trade in personal information. The Privacy Act is technology neutral and applies to personal information comprised in electronic records as well as other mediums.

The Cybercrime Act 2001

The Cybercrime Act 2001 created a number of investigation powers and criminal offences designed to protect the security, reliability, and integrity of computer data and electronic communications in the Criminal Code Act 1995. This outlaws activities such as unauthorised access to restricted data (hacking) and spreading computer viruses.

If you need legal help regarding any aspect of e-commerce law, then please complete your free legal enquiry form on the right, or click here.

Further Resources - E-Commerce Law & Lawyers