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Don’t Panic!

Do E-commerce

A Beginner’s Guide to European Law Affecting E-commerce

By Corinna Schulze

Published by the European Commission’s Electronic Commerce Team (Information Society Directorate General)

Legal Notice

Neither the European Commission nor any person acting on its behalf is responsible for the use which might be made of the information contained in the present publication. The European Commission is not responsible for either the functioning or the content of the external websites referred to in the present publication.

The views expressed in this publication are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official European Commission'’ view on the subject.

Acknowledgements

The author wish to thank Bror Salmelin, Ronald MacKay, Jeffrey Baumgartner and Sonia Luthra for their support and assistance in preparing this guide.

Foreword

After a slow start, electronic commerce (e-commerce) is taking off in Europe. People are going on-line at unprecedented rates and on-line shops are popping up left and right. A business card without an e-mail address is becoming rarity. Nevertheless, there are still a number of barriers preventing many small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) from going on-line and causing consumers to be wary of shopping on line. The law is one of them.

Many existing SMEs are confused by e-commerce-related law and so are reluctant to go on-line. They are often established companies that have been doing business for years, if not generations. But their business has always been local. Suppliers are local. Customers are local. And, of course, the law is local. They know that when they put their business on the web, suppliers and customers could come from anywhere in the world – and that translates into a whole new set of laws to deal with.

At the same time, many new start ups are launched by young technicians and marketing people with innovative ideas, bags of venture capital and stacks of enthusiasm. They launch their businesses in complete ignorance of relevant law and may suffer the consequences sooner or later.

This guide aims to be a beginner’s guide to e-commerce law in Europe, pointing out the key relevant laws for e-businesses. It is important to bear in mind that this booklet does not even pretend to be a complete guide to legal issues. Moreover, just as the industry is moving at a phenomenal rate, so too (albeit slightly more slowly) is e-legislation. If you have questions, check with a legal professional or a completely up-to-date resource.

Finally, as our title says, “Don’t Panic. Do E-commerce”. Once a basic understanding is gained, it is clear the law is not that complex. As you will see, a great deal is based on common sense. Baring this in mind, you should not have any problems doing e-commerce – at least not from a legal perspective.

Good luck.