HAVE YOU THOUGHT ABOUT YOUR WEBSITES TERMS AND CONDITIONS?

For most WAPI Members and the wider Investigator Sector, Websites advertising our Wares and Specialism’s are a necessary norm in the economically challenged and competitive commercial world that we all survive in these days.

The following Article published on-line by NIPC Law explains some of the serious and very necessary aspects to your Web presence
and the potential pitfalls for the unwary.

Our thanks to Jane Lambert for her kind consent to WAPI re-publishing

Ian (D. Withers)
UK/EU Regulation & Press
WAPI - Past Chairman
www.WAPI.com
Licensing@WAPI.com
Tel: +44 79 7064 5420
Fax +44 28 9002 0409
World Association of Professional Investigators
GB Company Number 4049540
R/O: 212 Piccadilly, London W1J 9HG

WEBSITES TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Published by kind consent of Jane Lambert
janelambertnipclaw@gmail.com
November 7. 2010

About Jane Lambert

I am a barrister specializing in intellectual property, technology, media and entertainment and competition law. I specialize in helping SME (small and medium enterprises) protect and exploit their investment in brands, design, technology and the arts. SME require intellectual property (legal protection for their intellectual assets) at least as much as big business but their limited means restrict the way they can use it. Looking after such clients wisely requires skills and knowledge which have taken me years to learn.

Website Terms and Conditions

I’ve just finished revising terms and conditions for a new e-commerce business. I’ve been getting a lot of these lately which may indicate that the economy is on the move. “Aye happen” as they say in my native Lancashire. Whatever the reason for this, it is worth saying a few words on the topic.

Legal Framework

The first thing to note is that the website can be viewed from anywhere in the world. That can have legal consequences in some parts of the world for the people looking at it and possibly you if you do business with them through the site or find yourself in their country. In some countries, doing business through a website means that you are doing business in your customer’s location. And that may expose you to the consumer protection and other legislation of that country. An intention to trade in a country may be inferred from the use of a language other than English (including American spelling) and pricing in currencies other than sterling. You may have noticed that many multinational companies have separate sites for each country in which they do business. There is a reason for that. Each national site will have been designed to comply with the legislation of that particular country. If you want to do business with customers in say the USA or India, seek advice from a lawyer practising e-commerce law in the relevant country. If you don’t know such a lawyer, contact me. I’ve got to know lots through my membership of the WIPO arbitration, mediation and domain name panels and attendance at International Bar Association, Licensing Executives and Computer Law Association meetings over several decades.

Website Access Terms

The second thing to note is that a website is essentially a computer program and as such a literary work in which copyright can subsist. That is the case not just in the UK but in all the other countries that are party to the WTO Agreement, Berne and Universal Copyright Conventions as well as several bilateral agreements to which the HM government is party. In other words, most of the rest of the world. In order to access a website a browser has to reproduce the program that generates graphics, video, words and sounds on the viewer’s computer. Reproduction is an act restricted to the owner of the copyright and if you are the owner of any part of that code such reproduction requires your licence. You can grant such licence subject to certain conditions such as ownership of IP, acceptable use and so on. You can see an example of the terms that I usually impose here.

Privacy Statement

If you take any personal data from your visitors to your site you have to notify the Information Commissioner and you have to handle the data in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998 and implementing regulations. It is good practice to state precisely what you will do with that data and that will require a privacy statement. Other countries make similar requirements. Fortunately, there is a very good tool for generating privacy statements called “the OECD Privacy Statement Generator”. I use this tool to produce my own and my clients’ privacy statements. And in this respect I am in good company because it was the Information Commissioner’s website which introduced me to that tool some years ago the people behind that website said that they used it for themselves.

Terms of Business

As I said in my article on e-commerce, there has been a measure of harmonization of e-commerce law at international and European level. These have been implemented in the UK by statute and statutory instrument. The main legislation of which the client and his or her lawyers should be aware are the Electronics Communications Act 2000 and by The Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000, The Electronic Commerce (EC Directive) Regulations 2002 and the Provision of Services Regulations 2009. You can get a lot of excellent information on the Business Link and Office of Fair Trading websites. If you have any specific enquiry or want me to draft such terms or conditions for you, you may request an estimate.

Dispute Resolution

Finally you should spare a thought to dispute resolution. Unless you specify some other methods of dispute resolution, disputes will be resolved through civil litigation. But that is expensive and can lead to argument over jurisdiction and enforcement. Mediation followed by arbitration can be much faster and cheaper but you need to insert a dispute resolution clause into your agreement. In choosing a dispute resolution clause you may wish to consider NIPC Mediation and NIPC Arbitration. Again, I’ll be glad to advise you on choice of law, choice of jurisdiction, mediation and arbitration clauses if you want.

Jane Lambert
Head of Chambers

NIPC
The Media Centre
7 Northumberland Street
Huddersfield
HD1 1RL
United Kingdom
T 0800 862 0055
F 01484 587552
http://www.nipclaw.com