Internet law and online services

The continuing expansion of the Internet, and the rise of intranets, over the last few years has led to greater business opportunities and access to a wider consumer market. However, it is easy to overlook the fact that you, or your organisation, may still be exposed to liability and other risks from activities you undertake on the Internet.

We Can Help!

Our expertise lies in advising clients on issues relating to the Internet and other on-line services. We are ideally placed to advise on both contentious and non-contentious matters and we specialise in content issues.

Intellectual Property Rights and On-line Services

The following are matters you need to consider and we can help with:

Web site design, form and content

• be aware of the steps you can take to limit your legal responsibility, for example, when allowing access to your bulletin board or browsing on your site
• remember that the arrangement and form of a web site is as relevant as its content
• consider the legal aspects of links between your web site and other web sites

Intellectual property protection of material in digital form

• the on-line assets of your business are intangible
• you should rely on intellectual property rights such as copyright, database rights and trade mark rights
• your web site may have e-mails, postings, brand names, third party logos, graphics, music and sound, all of which attract different rights
• know your rights in all your Internet works and how best to protect them against third parties seeking to copy them
• consider how you are going to present yourself or your organisation on the World Wide Web
• is there a trading name you can use as your domain name?
• know your options if the name you want is not available

We Will Advise You On

• name registration
• the conflicts which sometimes arise concerning domain names
• the steps you can take to protect your trading name
• how to register it as a trade mark and/or a domain name, both in the UK and internationally

Claims against service provider/access providers

• numerous cases concerning defamation arise over the Internet and we can advise and guide you through the complex issues raised
• the Internet operates by copying and we will advise you on the questions of copyright infringement which often arise
  

Libel arising out of employee access to e-mails and Internet

• substantial damages and costs have been paid by employers in cases involving defamatory e-mails being sent by their employees
  
• we can advise you how to protect your position in this area by setting up policies and guidelines regulating employee e-mail use
  
• we can also advise on related confidentiality and privacy issues

Advertising and promotion and electronic commerce

• the Internet provides a new arena for those wishing to do business
  
• contractual obligations still apply and we offer advice on consumer and business transactions

Data Protection and privacy

• the Internet facilitates the transmission of personal data, often around the world - we will advise you on ramifications of your activities under UK data protection legislation