E-commerce & internet consulting
In its capacity as the most rapidly growing communications medium ever to exist in economic history, the Internet presents far-reaching challenges for the business world.
In this respect the Internet has become the gateway to an internet-worked information society. The sheer electronic speed of the Internet has a dematerialising, de-territorialising effect and creates new assets that do not lend themselves to legal assessment based solely on the conventional methods of classification. While this transformation is giving rise to a new independent field of “information law”, the Internet is continuing to prove itself as the marketplace of the future. Digital and at ever-increasing speeds will be the business world of tomorrow, which means that in order to keep up, a sound legal framework is required to accommodate the various ways goods can be traded and transacted electronically today.
This is the field in which we work, in which we advise and represent reputable German and international companies, as well as newcomers, showing them ways of using the Internet and E-Commerce to achieve their objectives and put their ideas into practice.
Project-specific briefs, working in consultation and co-operation with all of the client’s departments, are a matter of course for us. When working on a particular project, it is necessary to go beyond considering just the legal aspects and to incorporate the counselling into a business environment, enabling projects and products to be realised quickly, efficiently and with the necessary legal safeguards in place.
The range of advisory services that we offer includes the following:
Counselling and contract formulation in the field of electronic commerce
- observing tax requirements
- security in data communications
- contracts and agreements via e-mail and on screen
- advertising in the Internet
- legal structures and safeguards for payments, particularly where credit cards are used within the framework of electronic commerce, in accordance with the stipulations of the EU directives
Protecting intellectual property in the Internet (protection of industrial property rights) and averting interference by third parties
- protection and prosecution within the framework of copyright law
- protection and prosecution within the framework of trademark law (proprietary names and logos)
- protection of information (online services as compilations)
- publishing on the Internet
- prosecution in cases of unfair competition (laws covering unfair business practices)
Formulation of contracts for providers and online services
- formulation of contracts for access providers, presence providers, link providers and content providers
- drafting server housing agreements, maintenance agreements, contracts covering Web design, Webvertising, Webhosting, Internet access
- giving advice on liability for network content as stipulated by the laws covering information and communication services
- protection of privacy
- drafting General Standard Terms and Conditions
Counselling within the framework of the German Banking Law with respect to the handling of electronic cash transactions and network money-market business
Counselling within the framework of the laws covering information and communication services
- regulations covering the use of teleservices (laws on teleservices)
- compliance with data protection requirements with respect to teleservices (laws covering data protection for teleservices)
- digital signature (signature laws)
- liability as stipulated by the laws on teleservices
Counselling on media services in accordance with the treaty covering media services
Advising within the framework of data protection
- protection of privacy in the context of providers and online services
- protection of privacy in the context of mailboxes
- personal data
International aspects
- services offered on foreign servers
- place of jurisdiction and international authority
- international agreements
- language of contract