Doing Business on the Internet: Avoiding
Intellectual Property, Information Dissemination, and
Consumer Protection “E-Commerce Liability”
Copyright 2007, Lateef Mtima, Professor of Law and Director of The Institute for Intellectual Property and Social Justice, Howard University School of Law. I would like to thank Tiffany Tucker, HUSL '09, for her research assistance in the preparation of this Outline.
By Lateef Mtima
Introduction
This Outline explores some of the principal liability issues which arise in connection with the conduct of E-commerce, particularly liability for violation of the intellectual property law and laws regulating the provision of goods and services to the consumer public. Whatever the nature of an e-business' products or services, "e-commerce liability" can arise not only as a result of an entity's own direct conduct, but also in connection with the conduct of third parties. Accordingly, this Outline examines the bases for direct and indirect e-commerce liability i) under the copyright law, including the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, ii) in connection with related "information injury" causes of action such as defamation, as addressed by the Communications Decency Act, and iii) in connection with the Federal Trade Commission's policies and guidelines regulating the provision of consumer goods and services through the Internet.
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