Tina L Douglas asked:




Ecommerce can be applicable to regular contractual principles, mainly distance sales. However, it’s important to draw some difference between products or service is delivered through traditional means or electronically; or products or service are intended for commercial or personal use.

The development numerous products taken online isn’t clear whether products or services. Due to unknown situations related with ecommerce, it is unclear to distinct the two, commercial or noncommercial sales.

With short assessment of crucial law and provisions that could be direct or indirect significance to ecommerce, it’s logical to comment on a survey of regulation of ecommerce. Then, it is normal to check the legal provisions that were purposely modified to control ecommerce. Lastly, it’s logical to examine and evaluate up to where ecommerce may influence upon the contractual laws that was developed to regulate commercial transactions worked through traditional.

Contractual elements, that will normally be the primary concern of the parties, were identified for them to assess traditional commercial laws are applicable to ecommerce. Elements include, seller and buyer identification in relation to legal status, location or location of business, solvency, association within corporate organizations, etc.
This issue is important whether an entitled seller or not and an entitled buyer or not to the products in question:

1. In relation to intellectual property rights, where copyright or TM infringements may hinder with the buyer’s intended usage and goods or services that are subject to content control.
2. The procedure requirements regarding to offer presentation, counteroffers, offers declination, acceptance etc. to verify if and when a contract has been entered.
3. The predetermined terms for the contract regarding to the quantity and quality of goods or services, place and time of delivery, purchase sum and time and modes of payment etc.
4. Circumstances for fixing defective products with warranties and right for the buyer to return damaged goods.
5. Managing of confidential data in relation with the transaction.

Marketing practices and use of information gathered through other means raise separate problems regarding privacy and security.

Ecommerce constitutes yet one type of activities that may be electronically conducted and considered important elements of the emerging Global Information Society. Most problems related to such activity are transactional in nature. The regulatory environment being developed may influence the totality for other kind of online activities.

Virtual middlemen bring special opportunities and problems to the consumers and businesses. Services like brokering, referrals, search, one-stop shopping etc. and a number of different service providers and financial services have arisen who focus in financial insurance and e-payments etc.

Ecommerce plays a role where delivery requires to be carried across through traditional way since order completion and allocation as product design and other activities may be electronically outsourced which produce greater efficiency and minimized costs.

The need to coordinate initiatives on ecommerce with WTO commitments, c.f. the GATS and the Annex on Basic Telecommunications Services are pointed out by the EU commission. They pointed out that ecommerce symbolizes numerous separate trade issues that must be resolved within the WTO, Global Business Dialogue, New Trans-Atlantic agenda, Information Society Dialogue or others.

Ecommerce