Legal Issues And The Internet

Co-written by Timothy Bahorski, Mark E. Morley and Bruce Truex

This edition of the Secrest Wardle Lynch Report explores some of the legal issues that have arisen concerning business on the Internet ("e-commerce").

As more and more people around the world connect to the Internet, new legal issues and areas of concern abound. Businesses engaging in e-commerce, corporations using e-mail and companies setting up web-sites all face new legal headaches that the courts are just starting to address. Accordingly, Internet players must look to traditional areas of contract law, copyright and trademark law, and privacy law for guidance.

Of immediate concern to most consumers with Internet access is concern over the security of private information transmitted over the worldwide web. Many consumers are understandably cautious about transmitting credit card numbers through computer modems for fear that unauthorized users might obtain the numbers. Under federal law, however, credit card users' liability for unauthorized use of credit cards is limited to $50.00.

Equally worrisome is the amount of private information about individuals that can be obtained on the Net. Telephone numbers, addresses and even maps to private homes are readily accessible to anyone with Internet access. Virtually all listed telephone numbers from every state are available through web-sites such as "people.yahoo.com" and "555-1212.com." As a result, more Americans are resorting to unlisted telephone numbers to avoid releasing such instantly accessible personal information.

Year 2000 Team

The Year 2000 Team of lawyers at Secrest, Wardle, Lynch are ready to address your questions and concerns regarding the litigation, insurance and legal issues surrounding the Millennium Bug. Please contact one of our Year 2000 Team Leaders with your Y2K questions or concerns:

Domain Name Litigation

"Domain names" are business addresses for companies on the Internet. For obvious reasons, a company wants its domain name to be identical to its actual name so consumers can find it easily while surfing the Worldwide Web.

Ideally, an American for-profit company will use its company name followed by ".com" as its internet address. American non-profit organizations increasingly are using their corporate names followed by ".org," while colleges and universities typically list their names followed by ".edu."

With the proliferation of thousands of new domain names over the last decade, litigation has...