Understanding Your Online Obligations For Your Web Venture

Understanding Your Online Obligations For Your Web Venture

When you set up a online business you need to make sure that you protect your venture, your customers and yourself from any disputes or legal action. This article focuses on your obligations as a web owner and what you really need to know to keep your venture out of trouble!

Consider Legal Obligations  –

Although the internet has been around for a good years now, laws are still evolving and being made concerning what we can and what we can’t do when using the World Wide Web. This is especially so in running a web venture. The reason it has taken so long for some laws to be set passed is partly because of the immensity of the internet and the fact that it is a global entity. As we know, most countries have their own laws which can be drastically different to other countries’. This makes it all the more complex. So there are still many elements of internet law that are being debated and remain to be finalised. However, an internet company that is established in a particular country must adhere to the rules of their country and to any global ecommerce rules that also apply.

Start by finding out your legal obligations within your country of your website’s origin. Your business  enterprise agency can advise and you may be able to gain a free initial consultation with a company specialising in internal law.

This article, however, gives you some information about what you should consider and provides you with an introduction to some of the main areas which you need to know about before you launch your website. Bear in mind though that laws change so always check that information is still current.

My Top Tip –

Join

an online business forum. Apart from being great for networking, you can find resources, information and plenty of topical discussions. It’s an ideal way of keeping up to date with the latest internet developments.

The Main Areas –

So what do you need for your web venture? At the very least, all websites should include a disclaimer on their site which sets out liability limitations. A copyright notice is also recommend. Business websites should, however, go further in ensuring that all angels are covered from a legal perspective. Websites that collect customers’ personal details need to include a privacy policy on site and ecommerce websites need to feature more detailed terms and conditions. Effectively, the more complex and directly customer orientated your business, the more legal dicuments you need to have in place to offer you some protection if there are ever any conflicts.

There are specialist law firms online that can help you prepare what you need. Some provide free templates for disclaimers, privacy policies and terms and conditions which you can adapt for your own use.

The legal areas that you may need to consider for your website venture could include:

• publishing law
• copyrights, associated rights and permissions
• privacy, data protection and confidentiality law
• consumer law
• libel/defamation law
• contract law
• internet/ecommerce law
• design law
• trademark law
• employement law
• website usability law
• markering law.

That’s quite list! Don’t worry if you find it all overwhelming. You don’t need to become an expert on the subject – that’s what we have legal professionals for. Just familiarise yourself with the issues that affect your web venture and seek professional advice to clarify any points that need further exploration.