Entitled ‘E-business Law: a Practical Guide for Irish Companies’, the guide aims to help small companies comply with complex legislation governing areas spanning data protection, intellectual property, online payments and taxation.
Launched by Minister for Trade and Commerce, Michael Ahern TD, the publication seeks to make small companies aware of the legal and financial risks they face if they fail to monitor and control the online activities of their employees.
Karen Hynes, manager, E-business Unit in Enterprise Ireland said the guide was necessary because smaller businesses might not have the policies and procedures in place to govern Internet and email use that larger companies had.
“Many small businesses need to review their staff’s online activities and take the necessary steps to reduce the risks,” she argued. “They are often unaware of the legal risks they face from emails their employees are writing and sending, and from what they are downloading from web sites.”
The E-business Law guide covers six major areas from using computers within a business to collecting personal information and taxing e-business.
It also looks at issues small businesses need to be aware of when setting up their own Web site and problems that arise from letting employees go online, such as defamation, bullying and harassment, e-security and Internet usage.
Speaking at the launch, Minister Ahern said: “My department is committed to helping more companies to engage in online trading and to use new technologies to make their businesses more efficient. I welcome the publication of this guide, which will help companies to understand the legal framework of e-business and ensure that they are compliant.”
The guide can be downloaded in different formats from the Enterprise Ireland Ebusiness Unit Web site on www.openup.ie.
What’s in the guide:
The eBusiness legal guide is split into six sections. They are as follows:
1. Computers within your business – licensing software; support, maintenance and back-up; software development and agreements
2. Setting up your website – domain names; copyright and trade marks; marketing online; B2B v B2C issues
3. Doing business online – forming contracts online; consumer protection, contracts for financial services; pricing
4. Collecting personal information – data protection; privacy policies
5. Your staff online – defamation; bullying and harassment; e-security; Internet usage – downloading and surfing
6. Taxing e-business
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