Legal aspects of the e-commerce shop

Stefan Van CampE-commerce summit 26 February 2014

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Core Rules and Compliance

• European Directives • Distance contracts directive• E-commerce directive• Consumer rights directive 2011 (information to consumer + distance

contracts)• Privacy

• Belgian law • Mainly E-commerce law 2003 / Market Practices Law 2010

• New Commercial Code 2014, books VI (market practices) and XII (electronic economy)

• Modifications December 2013

• Web sweeps: EU and UK: poor compliance

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Information (transparency)

Art. VI.45 Commercial Code : long list

Indication of name of the trader, address, e-mail address, telephone number, company register number– Combating fraud + transparency about location– Traceability of dangerous products, product recall, return address

German court case (insurance business): prejudicial question for EU Court of Justice – medium for urgent contact (telephone number) is really necessary, separate

from the e-mail medium

Contact form is not an e-mail address

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Information (transparency)

Main characteristics of products and services

Total price (taxes, costs of shipment : at least a warning) – Explicit consent of consumer for extra costs

Payment modes, delivery, lead times, complaints policy

Reminder of the legal consumer sales guarantee (2 years) or commercial guarantee

Functionality and interoperability of digital content

(Minimum) duration of contract

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Information to be provided before final order

the different technical steps to follow to conclude the contract

whether or not the concluded contract will be filed by the trader and whether it will be accessible (not a requirement)

the technical means for identifying and correcting input errors prior to the order; (e.g. backtrack; doubles entries; illogical input)

the languages offered for the conclusion of the contract

relevant codes of conduct (accessible) – e.g. environmental or fair trade logos

explicit warning: “order with payment obligation”

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3 typical terms and conditions

General terms and conditions for sale / services– Price, warranty, delivery, lead times, maintenance, applicable law (excluding

Vienna convention), jurisdiction– Indication of updates

Website Use terms and conditions (“disclaimer”)

Privacy policy (statement)

(Sometimes separate cookie policy)– Use of cookies (more developed in the Netherlands)

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Right to withdraw

Information on existence of the right of withdrawal

In principle : right of withdrawal within 14 days after delivery– 12 months / 14 months in case of insufficient information

Not applicable to certain deliveries (e.g. tailored goods, opened software, downloaded digital content, immediate services)– Indicate that the right of withdrawal does not exist

Limitations (art.11 Consumer rights directive)

Direct cost of return shipment borne by consumer (if he was warned)

Confirmation of order : reminder of right of withdrawal

Model form for withdrawal

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Further consumer protection

Late delivery : warning by consumer and right to terminate

Extra fee for certain modes of payment – maximum the cost for the trader

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Privacy policy

Use of cookies (sometimes separate policy)

Profiling

Direct marketing : opt in for direct marketing

Indication of data processors

Sharing information

Right to review and correct data

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Diverse Rules and Issues

• Contracting – evidence : digital signature

• Electronic invoice (VAT Code)

• Competition rules applied to internet (Guidelines 2010)• E.g. exclusivity contracts

• Payments

• Data protection (cloud)

• Domain names

• Games, contests, lottery etc.

• Unsolicited e-mails

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Diverse Rules and Issues

• Sales (soldes) on the internet ?

• Publicity rules• Comparative publicity• Misleading publicity

• Consumer sales : legal guarantee (2 years)• Liability of platforms (counterfeited products)• International jurisdiction (consumers)

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CBEC

Cross-border Ecommerce Community

support Merchants, Payment Service Providers, ISOs and Acquiring Banks within the CNP Payment Industry

information on every aspect of international ecommerce

Payvision, The Paypers, PAY.ON, ReD, World IT Lawyers (time.lex)

country profiles, reports and infographics – http://www.thepaypers.com/cross-border-ecommerce/

• latest trends, opinion articles and editorials by industry experts via www.crossborder-ecommerce.com microsite.

About us

International business law firmcommercial contracts, sale and supply agreements, market practices, unfair competition, distribution, franchising, product safety/recalls, consumer protection, litigation/arbitration/mediation, debt recovery

Who we are

Native speakers on board

Our team

International : members of the Bars of Brussels, Madrid and Thessaloniki and international network of legal professionals

With a passion for the protection of intangible assets intellectual property, technology, internet, data protection

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Thank you !

www.timelex.eu

stefan.vancamp@timelex.eu