lawreport
legalbriefs
UK‘hasfailedNetusers’
TheEUhasbegunlegalaction
againsttheUKoverafailure
tokeeppeople’sonline
detailsconfidential.
Fraudfearsmountinfirst‘digitalrecession’
EUTelecomsCommissioner
VivianeRedingsaidtheaction
Businessesareconcernedthatcounterfeitingwill theproblemsotheyarenotavehicle relatestohowinternetservice
increaseasaresultoftherecession,andwantto forinfringement”. providers(ISPs)usedthe
seemuchstrongercontrolsputinplacetoprotect KirstenGilbert,associateatMarks& targetedonlineadvertising
themfromInternetabuses. Clerksolicitors,added:“Whilethe serviceoperated
Sosaysresearchbyintellectualpropertyfirm Internetposesmanychallengesto
Pamela
byPhorm–whose
Marks&Clerk.Inasurveyofmorethan200 brandownersasapowerfuldistribution Withers technologytells
businesses,97percentbelievethatcounterfeiting channelwhichcanbeabused,the advertiserswhat
willincreaseintherecession,while80percent tacticalmovesofcompetitorsshouldbeseparated Internetusers
believebusinesseswillbeatmuchgreaterrisk fromthemoredamagingthreatofcounterfeiting. havebeen
Viviane
thaninpreviousdownturns. “Businessesmustalsocometorecognisethat searchingfor.
Reding
PamWithers,apartneratMarks&Clerk,said: theywillneedtodomoretoprotectthemselves. Redingsaid:
“Thisisthefirstrecessioninthedigitaleraand Tyingthehandsofonlinemarketplacesorservice “TechnologieslikeInternet
businessesareanxiousabouttheconsequences. providersisdangerous,notleastassomanysmall behaviouraladvertisingcanbe
ThesuccessoftheInternetmeansweareseeing andmediumbusinessesrelyontheInternetfor usefulforbusinessesand
increasinglyvociferouscriticismofthosewhoplay distribution. consumersbuttheymustbe
apartincounterfeiting–evenifitisunwittingly. “Onlinechannelsalsogive usedinawaythatcomplies
“Evenbeforetheslowdown,strongbrandssuch companiesthefreedomtoreactmore withEUrules,whicharethere
asTiffany’s&CoandL’Orealwerecriticalofthe quicklytomarketneedsandpricing toprotecttheprivacyof
roletheInternetplaysinenablingthesaleof sensitivity,whichwillproveyetmore citizensandmustbe
counterfeitgoods,whichisintensifyingasthe essentialinthismarket.
Kirstin
Gilbert
rigorouslyenforcedbyall
recessiontakeshold. “Retaildatashowsthatonlinesales memberstates.”
“Oursurveyproposesamorepowerful areholdingupwellinarecessionthathashitour Britainhastwomonthsto
cybercrimeauthority,whichcouldwellallaythe bricks-and-mortarhighstreethard.Anymoves respondtothecharges.
fearsofbrandownersandsatisfypopularonline towardstighterregulationneedtobebalancedso BTadmittedayearago
marketplaces,establishingaclearerframeworkto changesremaincost-effectiveforallandare thatithadtestedPhorm,in
punishtherealoffenders. matchedbyequalcommitmentfrombrandowners 2006and2007withouttelling
“Businessesneedtotakefirmeractionto directly.” itscustomers–themonitoring
protecttheirbrands,whileserviceprovidersneed trialssparkedaccusationsof
torecognisetheirresponsibilitiesandengagewith
India:foodfirmsrestrictyouthads
snoopingfromprivacygroups,
HindustanUnilever,Coca-Cola,PepsiCoand butweresupportedbyUK
FTCreviewsbloggingrules
Kellogghavevoluntarilyagreedtorestrictthe telecomsregulatorOfcom.
marketingofunhealthyproductstochildrenunder TheCommissionbelieves
TheUSFederalTradeCommission(FTC)is
theageof12inIndia. thatUKlawsdonotproperly
proposingthatword-of-mouthmarketersand
TheIndianunitsofthemulti-nationalfoodand implementtwodirectives
bloggersbecomeliableforthevalidityof
beveragegiantshavemadethepledgetostop aimedatprotectingprivacy,
statementstheymakeaboutaproductthey’re
promotingcertainbrandstoIndianchildrenin thePrivacyandElectronic
promoting,alongwiththeproduct’smarketer.
lightofconcernsoverrisinglevelsofobesity CommunicationsDirectiveand
RichCleland,assistantdirectoroftheFTC’s
amongyoungpeopleinbothadvancedand theDataProtectionDirective.
advertisingpracticesdivision,saidtheproposal
developingmarkets.
isaimedatstayinginstepwithevolving
Therestrictionappliestotelevision,printand RoyalMailwinsVATbattle
marketingpractices:“Thecommissionis
onlinecommunications,aswellasalsotothesale RoyalMail’sVATexemption
attemptingtoupdateguidelinesthatare30
of‘unhealthy’productsinprimaryschools. hasbeenruledaslegally
yearsoldsothattheyaddresscurrentmarketing
Moredetailedproposalsregardinghowthese sound,despiteachallengein
techniquesand–inparticular–addresstheissue
firmswillself-regulatetheagreementwillbe theEuropeanCourtofJustice
ofwhetherornotthe‘safeharbor’that's
producedlaterthisyear. byDutch-ownedTNTPost.
currentlyallowedfor‘resultnottypical’-type
EachoftheadvertisershadalsosignedtheEU Thecourtruledthatas
disclaimersisstillwarranted.”
Pledgeinlate2007,inwhichtheycommittedto RoyalMailprovidedthe
TheFTCrevisions–whichwillbevotedon
changethewaytheyadvertisetochildrenin UniversalService,its
thissummer–applyonlytothosewhoare
Europe–othersignatoriestothepledgewere VATexemptionstatus
compensatedtopromoteorreviewaproduct.
BurgerKing,Danone,Kraft,Nestlé,GeneralMills, wasreasonable.However,the
Therearenolegalimplicationsforsocialmedia
FerreroandMars.ThosewithlargeIndian ECJalsodeterminedthat
sitessuchasFacebookormarketersitessuch
operationsareexpectedtosignuptothenew individuallynegotiated
asAmazon,whereconsumersoftenpost
codeofconductinthecountrybythetimeitis contractswithRoyalMail
productreviews.
formallyreleased. wouldbesusceptibletoVAT.
www.dmi-news.com May2009 43
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