The European Union (EU) has committed to improving consumer protection in the single market thanks to its “New Deal for Consumers” strategy. As part of that plan, the Omnibus Directive (2019/2161/EU) came into force on 7 January 2020.
Entrepreneurs
On 7 January 2020, the European Commission adopted the “Omnibus Directive” (Directive(EU) 2019/2161, the “Regulation”), which must be implemented by Member States as of 28 May 2022. EU and non-EU-based online platforms offering products, services, or digital content to consumers must comply with the new requirements.
If you operate an e-commerce marketplace in the European Union (EU) you must provide certain pre-contractual mandatory information about the third-party sellers (sellers) on your e-commerce platform to consumers.
When you want to use a work that is in copyright (and copyright lasts a long time), you need to get permission from all copyright owners. Some works have several rights attached to them and each right may have more than one owner so you may need to …
If you operate an e-commerce website in the European Union (EU) that sells to consumers you must provide certain key information so that the consumer can make an informed purchase decision i.e. whether or not to buy. This information must be made available …
A work – like a book, a song or a film – is in the public domain when there is no copyright attached to it. This means that you can re-use that work for free, without the need to ask for permission from anyone: you can just copy it and use it. When copyright in a work comes to an end, the work is said to enter the public domain. In many countries, such as the UK, this generally happens 70 years after the last creator’s death, bearing in mind that a work may have several creators.
Reading customer reviews and comparing rankings of suppliers are now an increasingly important part of the buying decision for online products and services. According to www.statista.com “nearly 70 percent of online shoppers typically read between one and six customer reviews before making a purchasing decision.”
When creating new work, it is natural to be inspired by the work of others. However, there is an important distinction between simply being inspired and unlawfully copying.
When you want to use a work that is in copyright (and copyright lasts a long time), you need to get permission from all copyright owners. Some works have several rights attached to them and each right may have more than one owner so you may need to get permission from them all.
Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) face numerous challenges related to managing copyright. These challenges are due to characteristics such as size (SMEs range from 1 to 250 employees), availability of resources (including those other than human resources) and market position.
If you own the copyright in a work, you are free to exploit it on your own or license the use of it to another party (such as a book publisher). ‘Exploit’ in this context means to develop or make use of it. When considering whether to license your work, you should assess whether or not you are truly the owner of the work in question.
Copyright is a set of ‘exclusive’ rights, giving creators the right to control the use of their work and the ability to earn from it. The term ‘exclusive’ in copyright law means that the copyright owner has the right to exclude others from …
What is the right of withdrawal and what are the key points an EU e-commerce business selling goods online needs to know?
It is always frustrating to hear from a client seeking advice regarding the patentability of their invention, that they have been disclosing details of their invention to third-parties without having obtained a non-disclosure agreement (“NDA”) or having filed a patent application.
While an e-commerce provider that lists its products and provides some contact details in accordance with the EU e-Commerce Directive has made a decent start to its EU online contracting compliance, this is not in itself sufficient.
Under copyright laws in the EU, Switzerland, and the UK, the freelancer owns the copyright in the work product they create for you. There is no automatic transfer of ownership to you just because …
Bernie launches an e-commerce platform and starts selling. Business was going great but then…
There are now many on-line platforms like Upwork and Fiverr where you can hire freelancers for a variety of different services. However, in hiring such talent you need to clarify contractually who owns the intellectual property (copyright) in the work product that is created by the freelancer.
As a company or an individual that has developed an innovative product, you need to make sure, at all times, that you protect your rights over the invention. This is particularly important when you need to talk to a third party about scaling up the prototype and using their manufacturing/ industrial expertise to produce and commercialize it.
Vicky Walker, a world-famous French surgeon, came up with an innovative idea but she needs help to produce it. She meets with a third party and discloses her idea as they discuss a potential deal. But wait, did she act wisely?
Logan & Partners is pleased to announce its new partnership with Executives International. Logan & Partners, a proud member of Executives International for more than 5 years, will support the association’s activity, ensuring that all legal issues are properly dealt with.
Santiago collaborates with a network of freelancers from around the world and wants to make sure that his company owns the intellectual property rights in the work product.
As part of The Entrepreneur Series, we spoke with Santiago González Ocón, Founder and Ecoefficient Designer at Eco-efficient Design, the first Swiss company dedicated 100% to the industrial design of environmentally friendly products for companies.
One of the key documents for any business is a good set of general terms and conditions of sale (general conditions) for your product or service. Here are 3 key things you should consider when drafting general conditions for your business in Europe.
Ekaterina Filippova from Ekat Communication is often asked by her clients about how they should draft their general terms and conditions of sale. Here is what Kelly Logan recommends.
First of our Entrepreneurs series is Ekaterina Filippova, from Ekat Communication, talking about a key issue that her clients face in the digital space: “How to get customers from social media?”
