The European Union (EU) has taken a significant step forward in regulating online marketplaces with the new Digital Services Act, a pioneering piece of legislation that introduces various requirements for online platforms and other online service providers. One of the key provisions affecting online marketplaces is the “Traceability of Traders”, which aims to enhance transparency and accountability in the digital marketplace.
Entrepreneurs
The European Union’s Digital Services Act (DSA) has ushered in a new era of online content regulation, aiming to create a more legally harmonized framework across the EU. It affects online intermediaries who offer their services (goods, content or services) on the European market, from e-commerce marketplaces and app stores to video-sharing platforms and search engines.
The Federal Swiss Council has recently announced it is considering enacting new laws to regulate large platforms, including search engines (e.g. Google), social networking platforms (e.g. Facebook), multimedia platforms (e.g. YouTube) and microblogging services (e.g. Twitter), which could have far-reaching implications for the tech industry and digital communication. The move comes in response to growing concerns about the potential misuse of these platforms, particularly in terms of hate speech, fake news, and other harmful content.
If you are an entrepreneur offering online products to consumers based in Switzerland, or an e-commerce platform looking to expand in Switzerland, it is essential to figure out what the cooling-off period is and how it differs from other European countries. The “cooling-off period”, also known as …
Terms and conditions (T&Cs) are the terms of the legal contract between your business and your customers for the supply of goods or services that sets out the rights and obligations of both parties. This contract governs the relationship with your clients and is essential when starting your online business.
One of the key documents for any online business is a good set of general terms and conditions of sale. These are the rules that apply to your agreement with your customers which will help them know where they stand and also protect your business.
Terms and conditions are a set of rules. These rules generally form a contract between you, the user, and the service provider, whose website you are visiting. The terms of that contract are set out in the website’s terms and conditions, which explain what you are and are not permitted to do on the website and with its content.
Offering gift cards to your consumers can be a great strategy to bring in money. But, if your business sells gift cards to consumers based in the European Union (EU), there are some specific rules you need to follow. So, to help you better understand this thriving market and seize the opportunities for your business while reducing the risks, we’ve compiled the key questions surrounding the implementation of gift cards…
The new EU provisions brought by the Omnibus Directive aim to harmonise the protection of consumer rights across the EU, particularly by adapting them to the digital market. Spain implemented the Omnibus Directive provisions into national law through the Royal Decree-Law …
If you are involved in e-Commerce in the EU, you have probably heard of the Omnibus Directive, which came into force on 7 January 2020. A “New Deal for eConsumers” the Omnibus Directive focuses on protection for e-Commerce consumers that was not covered in the earlier EU package of legislation on consumer protection.
The “subscription economy” has grown five to eight times faster than traditional businesses over the last decade, according to a report by Zuora, a subscription management platform. With just one click, consumers can enter into subscriptions involving a range of goods and services, from utilities and beauty products to streaming platforms.
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.
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?”
