Walsh, Peter --- "Edwards and Waeldend: Law & the Internet: A Framework for Electronic Commerce " [2003] IntTBLawRw 17; (2003) 8 International Trade and Business Law Review 433

Edited by Lilian Edwards and Charlotte Waeldend, Law & the Internet: A Framework for Electronic Commerce, Hart Publishing, Portland, Oregon, 2000, ISBN 1 84113 141 5

This second edition follows up on the first edition: Law & the Internet: Regulating Cyberspace (1997), which was a collection of essays aimed at demystifying the Internet and analysing its impact on the legal profession. This is a rapidly evolving area of law, and the second edition is almost entirely revamped.

The book starts with The Internet: An Introduction for Lawyers, written by Andrew Terrett and Iain Monaghan. This chapter has been substantially rewritten since the first edition. The authors offer a detailed description of the physical and virtual layers of the Internet, and introduce the techno-jargon that computers and the Internet seem to attract. It also offers an overview of the legislative issues and trends that are arising in the area of ecommerce and the Internet, although the in-depth analysis is left for later chapters to explore.

Part 1 of the book addresses ecommerce issues, with four essays related to business on the web. The first essay considers some of the legal ramifications of entering into contracts electronically over the web. The author, Andrew D Murray, develops the law of contract to encompass this new communication medium, and considers factors such as contract formation, the postal acceptance rule and e-mail acceptances, and incorporation of express and implied terms. Particular attention is paid to cross-border transactions and the question of where the contract is formed, and of what law is applicable.

The remaining three chapters in Part 1 consider data privacy and security. Martin Hogg analyses the British Government’s Electronic Communications Act 2000 and its application to cryptography, encryption and electronic signatures. Saul Miller follows this with a discussion about electronic payment, and raises some of the statutory provisions regulating use of credit cards. These are then compared with debit cards and with the Mondex Digital Cash system, with the legal protections for consumers being analysed. Andrew Charlesworth sums up Part 1 with a consideration of ‘Data Privacy in Cyberspace’, looking at privacy provisions particularly in the EU and the USA. The pace of development in this area of law is demonstrated by the need for an addendum to the chapter citing developments since it was written.

Part 2 of the book is devoted to ‘Intellectual Property on the Internet’. William Black starts with a description of the ‘Domain Name System (DNS)’ and the way this system is managed. Charlotte Waelde follows on from this with two chapters discussing the commercial significance of the domain name and the overlap with trade marks and trading names. The Trade Marks Act 1994 (UK) provides the statutory background for the discussion of trade marks and the use of domain names. Again, this is an area that the author notes is continually changing and developing, and her second chapter considers forthcoming issues in trade mark disputes, focussing on some recent cases from the USA.

Chapter 9 of the book is written by Hector L MacQueen, and is a discussion of ‘Copyright and the Internet’. This very topical issue considers copyright of commercial interests on the Internet, including music (CDs and MP3s), videos and libraries. The author examines the legal provisions relating to information on the Internet, and the law that is developing to protect the intellectual property while also allowing reasonable reproduction by libraries, educational institutions and museums. The final chapter in Part 2 is by Paul Torremans, and analyses Internet disputes about copyright and choice of jurisdiction in terms of private international law.

Part 3 of the book relates to ‘Content Liability’. Lilian Edwards opens with three chapters: the first on’ Defamation and the Internet’, with a particular focus on the liability of Internet service providers. Her second chapter analyses ‘Pornography and the Internet’, and the legislative measures being taken to regulate the pornographic content of Cyberspace, while still allowing free speech and civil liberties. Her third chapter looks at junk electronic mail, and considers the need for the legal regulation of this medium. Paul Carlyle finishes with a discussion of ‘Legal Regulation of Telecommunications’, and the impact this is having on the provision of Internet services.

Since the contributors are all based in the UK, the book is largely based on law derived from the UK. However, the editors do note that the USA still sets the benchmarks for ecommerce in the world, and as such, there is reference to laws and cases from that jurisdiction. There is also reference to law from the European Union countries, and Australia, where Lilian Edwards completed a sabbatical in 1999.

The book is easy to read, and despite the numerous authors, has been well edited with the result that it flows smoothly through the various topics. While each chapter could be developed into an entire text on each subject, the book provides a worthwhile overview of this developing area of law throughout the world. The statement of law in the second edition is much more developed than in the first, and with the speed of change in this area of law, it won’t be long before publication of the third edition is warranted.

Peter Walsh