Internet and e-Commerce

A good idea can be worth a lot of money. A graphic drawing or a concept for a game can make all the difference. In some cases, your idea is protected by intellectual property rights such as patents, copyright or trademark law. Registration is required for various intellectual property rights. But there are also rights that arise automatically when certain conditions are met. For example, the content of a website is quickly protected by copyright. The criteria for protection are very low: it is enough that the content is sufficiently original, which means that it bears the creator’s personal stamp. That is why it is important to ensure proper contracts, such as non-disclosure agreements or cooperation agreements. When it comes to domain names, ‘domain name law’ determines who can have what rights to a domain name. A domain name is a name that refers to a numeric IP address. This IP address is an address of a computer connected to the Internet consisting of a sequence of ten digits. Because this IP address is difficult to remember (and therefore, among other things, not commercially attractive), domain names (often easy to remember) are created for this purpose. In many cases, when creating a domain name, reference is made to existing trade names and/or brand names, so that the website is easy to find. In some cases, this can result in a trade name and/or trademark infringement.

What is the best way to protect your idea? Which elements belong to content and are therefore subject to copyright protection? For example, what about the most diverse elements on the website, such as software, interfaces, databases and the graphic layout? And which rules should you comply with in order to protect your domain name or to prevent infringement of someone else’s domain name? Law & More will be happy to help you answer these questions. Do you have other questions in this area? Then the lawyers of Law & More are also at your service.

The development of websites, apps and other online services must meet many requirements. The result must be attractive and user-friendly. It must be easy for users to find by setting it up optimally. It must comply safely and reliably with current and ever-increasing legislation and regulations. Failure to comply with legislation and regulations does not make a professional impression and can lead to substantial fines, liability and loss of profits. It is therefore very important to set up websites, apps and other online services correctly. We are happy to support you in this process. When developing your website or app, we can check whether it meets all the requirements. This allows us to go through a step-by-step plan that every website or app must meet. After this check we can look into specific requirements that apply to you. We can also support you in drawing up general terms and conditions and/or a privacy and cookie statement.

Privacy law, telecommunications law and other administrative laws regulate various matters within the framework of Internet law such as: the ban on sending spam, the rules on the use of cookies, the ‘don’t call me’ register, the retention obligation, rules for online gambling and, of course, under which rules the processing of personal data takes place. Privacy law regulates how personal privacy and personal data should be dealt with. Personal data is data about an identified or identifiable person.

Until 25 May 2018, privacy legislation in the Netherlands was regulated by the Personal Data Protection Act (Wbp). After this, a European regulation, called the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) was created. In the Netherlands this is implemented by means of the GDPR Implementation Act. This privacy legislation regulates, among other things, when personal data may be processed, what rights the person concerned has and how compliance with the law is monitored.

The privacy legislation is of great importance because it guarantees the privacy of individuals. Non-compliance can lead to data leaks and considerable (reputational) damage. Violation of the privacy law is subject to high fines. In the Netherlands, the Personal Data Authority supervises compliance with privacy legislation. For example, we can assist you if you have a dispute with the Personal Data Authority. We can also advise you on the extent to which your working method needs to change in order to meet AVG’s requirements. In the event of a data breach, we can advise you on how to proceed.

Almost every website uses cookies. Not only to display advertisements, but also to remember user names and passwords of users, for example. If you make use of cookies, in certain cases you will first have to ask permission from the user in question. In addition, you must inform visitors to your website about the use of cookies. We can help you determine whether you comply with the relevant laws. We can also draw up or adjust a privacy and/or cookie statement for you.

When doing business online, you can avoid conflicts, for example:

We can assist you with:

We help you to avoid conflicts as much as possible by fully advising you on relevant laws and regulations. At the same time, we assist you in the process of resolving these conflicts. As a lawyer, we will conduct proceedings on your behalf if necessary.