against companies that have used this approach. A further issue of marketing-related law is
privacy law for e-mail marketing which was considered in the previous section.Using competitor names and trademarks in pay-per-click advertising
A similar approach can potentially be used in pay-per-click marketing(see Chapter 8) to
advertise on competitors’ names and trademarks. For example, if a search user types
‘Dell laptop’ can an advertiser bid to place an ad offering an ‘HP laptop’? There is less
case law in this area and differing findings have occurred in the US and France (such
advertising is not permitted in France).Accessibility law
Web accessibility refers to enabling all users of a web site to interact with it regardless of
disabilities they may have or the web browser or platform they are using to access the
site. The visually impaired or blind are the main audience that designing an accessible
web site can help.
Many countries now have specific accessibility legislation. This is often contained
within disability and discrimination acts. In the UK, the relevant act is the Disability and
Discrimination Act 1995.2 Forming an electronic contract (contract law and distance-selling law)
We will look at two aspects of forming an electronic contract.Country of origin principle
The contract formed between a buyer and a seller on a web site will be subject to the
laws of a particular country. In Europe, many such laws are specified at the regional
(European Union) level, but are interpreted differently in different countries. This raises
the issue of which law applies – is it that for the buyer, for example located in Germany,
or the seller (merchant), whose site is based in France? Although this has been unclear,
in 2002 attempts were made by the EU to adopt the ‘country of origin principle’. This
means that the law for the contract will be that where the merchant is located.Distance-selling law
Sparrow (2000) advises different forms of disclaimers to protect the retailer. For example,
if a retailer made an error with the price or the product details were in error, then the
retailer is not bound to honour a contract, since it was only displaying the products as
‘an invitation to treat’, not a fixed offer.
A well-known case was when an e-retailer offered televisions for £2.99 due to an error
in pricing a £299 product. Numerous purchases were made, but the e-retailer claimed
that a contract had not been established simply by accepting the online order, although
the customers did not see it that way! Unfortunately, no legal precedent was established
in this case since the case did not come to trial.
Disclaimers can also be used to limit liability if the web site service causes a problem
for the user, such as a financial loss resulting from an action based on erroneous con-
tent. Furthermore, Sparrow suggests that terms and conditions should be developed to
refer to issues such as timing of delivery and damage or loss of goods.
The distance-selling directive also has a bearing on e-commerce contracts in the
European Union. It was originally developed to protect people using mail-order (by post
or phone). The main requirements, which are consistent with what most reputable
e-retailers would do anyway, are that e-commerce sites must contain easily accessible
content which clearly states:CHAPTER 3· THE INTERNET MACRO-ENVIRONMENT
Pay-per-click (PPC)
search marketing
Refers to when a
company pays for text
ads to be displayed on
the search engine
results pages when a
specific keyphrase is
entered by the search
users. It is so called
since the marketer
pays for each time the
hypertext link in the ad
is clicked on.
Accessibility
legislation
Legislation intended to
protect users of web
sites with disabilities
including visual
disability.