Internet Lawyers Specializing in Website Agreements, E-Commerce Contracts & Internet Law

Terms of Service Attorney | Why Copying TOS Agreements Could Cost You

Starting a tech company can be a costly venture, but copying another’s Terms of Service or Terms of Use agreement can be even costlier.  Not only can a company be liable for copyright infringement for copying a Terms of Service or Terms of Use agreement, but using a standard form agreement can lead to extremely complex legal problems down the road.  Terms of Service (ToS) and Terms of Use (ToU) agreements are a company’s main line of defense against third-party liability for vicarious or contributory infringement of copyrights or trademarks, and for defining the general contractual relationship between service provider and user. 

Ecommerce Law Update: Web Contract Lawyers | EU to Revise Ecommerce Consumer & Privacy Laws

Ecommerce Law Update:

A new set of consumer contract laws to harmonize the rules that govern online selling across the European Union (EU) will be proposed this autumn by the European Commission. The EU's consumer chief, European Consumer Commissioner Meglena Kuneva,  also promised fresh guidance on internet privacy issues.

Mr. Kuneva said that while e-commerce is succeeding at national level, cross-border e-commerce is failing to keep pace. The European Commission believes that simpler and better-harmonized consumer laws will boost the sector. For instance:

The main EU ecommerce laws enforced today are known as the E-commerce Directive and the Distance Selling Directive. However, each Directive gave member states some flexibility in their implementation so national laws are inconsistent. For example, the cancellation period for goods bought online is seven working days in the UK and 14 days in Denmark. In addition, each member state has national consumer laws that apply to all sales but vary widely. A court in France is unlikely to let a UK website deny a French consumer the protection of French consumer law.

The revised ecommerce laws will certainly help US based companies selling their products and services on-line in the EU.  Web contract lawyers will be interested to read the entire speech below.