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Legal Issues in Online Business

The Internet: E-Commerce and Getting Paid

Starting a business online might look like a daunting task, however with the advancement of the technology it is easier than ever. Creating an e-commerce store has become readily available if you utilize services such as Shopify to build your product's store. However, with the increased ease of starting a new online e-commerce site, it is important to keep aware of legal issues that you might face when doing an online business. 

The first and foremost is the issue of violation of intellectual property: any content copied from over the internet is automatically copyrighted by the owner, therefore, content should not copied over from other sites without the actual permission from the owner. Similarly, "Terms of Use" should be added to your own websites to establish a contract with the user. These agreements can be added in the form of clickwrap agreements or browerwrap agreements. (1)

If you are doing an online business, there will be times when there will be a need to outsource work. When dealing with other companies it is important to establish a contract/agreement that clearly states the scope of work, terms regarding end of contract, warranty and any liabilities.  

Another issue to manage when managing an online business is managing fraud and securing electronic transactions. According to an article by Jupitor Research, online retails may lose up to $130 billion in card frauds. (2) 

Therefore, time should be taken to ensure all that your store meets all the legal regulations and has the latest security updates.  


References:

  1. Technology Law: What Every Business (and Business-Minded Person) Needs to know By Mark Grossman 
  2. https://www.business.com/articles/legal-challenges-for-ecommerce-businesses/

Featured Image by YkleduY ABH from Pixabay 

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