Electronic Commerce

INTRODUCTION

The meaning of Electronic Commerce (e-commerce) has changed over the past 30 years as today it is considered to be the buying and selling of products or services over an electronic system i.e. the internet. Since the spread of this, the amount of trade conducted electronically has grown tremendously. Now the World Wide Web (WWW) is being used by modern e-commerce, which is generally considered to be the sales aspect of electronic business and consists of the exchange of data to facilitate the financing and payment of business transactions.

This paper analyses a problem question, advising a company, Freegames, on the liabilities of the individual parties to them. It starts with advising Freegames on the general introduction of the key elements to contract law which are also relevant to electronic contracts (e-contracts) as to paper-based agreements. And later sets out basic principles of relevant legislation, applying it to specific circumstances in the problem question likely to be encountered in e-contracts i.e. terms and conditions, consumer protection, crimes, vicarious liability. Finally, the legal concept of domain names in e-contract, mentioning the effects of the Nominet system in English Law and the citation of appropriate cases where applicable.

Freegames advice on Alfred (A)

The formation of e-contracts is crucial in this scenario before us and should be discussed first to indicate where the parties lie. This has changed the way most businesses are conducted, as almost all types of contracts can now be made online. E-contracts are basically the same as offline contracts, and as such the same requirements and legislations have to be fulfilled to ensure the legally binding effect of the contract. Under English law, a contract is formed when an offer is made by one party (the “Offeror”) which is then accepted by the other party (the “Offeree”). Freegames is the Offeror whereas Alfred is the Offeree. However, there are certain requirements that need to be fulfilled for the legality of the contract to be binding and enforceable namely; offer, acceptance, consideration and intention to be legally bound, which will be discussed hand in hand with the problem question before us. In regards to e-contracts, a customer notifies the server of his intention to buy an item from the