Internet Law

What Is Internet Law?

Internet law refers to how legal principles and legislation govern the use
of the internet in all its forms. Another term for internet law is cyberlaw.
Unlike other areas of the law, internet law cannot be identified as one
solid, stable, and specific field of practice. Rather, it incorporates and
applies principles from several traditional fields, such as privacy
law or contract law, that predate the internet.
Internet law can include the following:
 Laws related to the creation of websites
 Laws governing Internet Service Providers

 Laws related to how trademarks are used online

 Laws regarding how to resolve conflicts over domain names

 Laws related to how to link web pages

Since the internet is relatively new and constantly evolving, laws

surrounding its use cannot be informed solely by precedent or common
law. There is a great amount of uncertainty regarding what is permitted
according to internet law, and there is still a great deal to discover and to
decide. Often, judges must apply other systems of law as best as they
can in order to resolve cases.
Why Is Internet Law a Special Case?
Given the breadth and complexity of the internet and all of its potential
liabilities, internet laws must be flexible enough to cover countless real
and theoretical possibilities. Additionally, because the internet is a global
interface, it cannot be entirely bound by the laws of any one geographical
authority, such as a single country's government. While there certainly
are some regulations that communities abide by internationally, some
believe that the internet should be operated as if it were a land all its
own, independent of national policy.

Types of Internet Regulation

In countries such as China, Saudi Arabia, and Iran, the internet is greatly
censored. This censorship aside, there are generally four ways the
internet is overseen. The four methods include:
 Laws: In ther attempts to handle issues related to the internet,
comost countries rely on legislation to mold behavior and manage
policy. Internet law is especially relevant within arenas such as
gambling, child pornography, and fraud. The problem is determining
how offenses can or should be prosecuted. How can an internet site
developed on the other side of the world be expected to abide by
the fluctuating and oftentimes confusing regulations of another
country?
 Architecture: Where laws are government-imposed rules, the term
"architecture" refers to the actual technological limitations of the
internet. It encompasses everything that affects how information
can be transmitted on the internet, from search engines and filters
to encryption and coding.

 Norms: On the internet, as in all areas of life, human behavior is

governed by cultural norms. These can help fill in the gaps left by
formal regulations. For instance, in deleting inappropriate
comments from an online forum, moderators go above and beyond
legal requirements and rely on social norms.

 Markets: The highs and lows of the online marketplace also affect
what happens online. Unpopular concepts or behaviors will not be
in demand and will eventually disappear. Likewise, if there is
demand but far too much supply, sellers will need to offer more
distinct or unique options. This can incentivize ethical behavior,
creativity, and self-regulation.

Policies Regarding Online Marketing

When online businesses first opened, the government was not yet
equipped to resolve legal issues. Nowadays, most businesses represent
themselves online, and law has begun to catch up.
The nation's official consumer watchdog, the Federal Trade Commission,
investigates and fines parties for using "unfair and deceptive marketing"
tactics. The agency also deals with "unfair competition."
Unfair and deceptive marketing can vary based on context, but it
generally applies to the following:
 Lying, making untrue statements about items or services.
  Describing unusual results as typical.

 Falsely labeling an item "all natural."

 Making general health-related assertions that are not backed by

medical or scientific proof.

 Making phony news websites, or purchasing website reviews.

 Attempting to stop negative reviews via contractual gag clauses,

which restrain freedom of speech.

 Fooling web searchers into registering for phony, repeat-billing

situations via negative option tactics (playing with words to trick
them into agreeing)

 Disguising ads to seem like regular web page material.

 Releasing customers' information without their consent.

 Not labeling tags when promotions are paid for (#paid, #ad, or
#spon)

 Using people's credit cards or billing addresses without

authorization.

 Using tricky pop-ups to solicit people's information.

 Sending off promotional texts without authorization.

 Tagging a higher "original price" on a product to make the current

price seem like a bargain.

What Websites Should Do

 Be transparent about partnerships, sponsors, and endorsements.
 Be clear about disclosures.

 Accept liability for freelance marketers.

 See crowdsourced projects through to the end. If you abandon a

project, refund any money collected.
  Avoid starting a new enterprise with a different name after an FTC
investigation.

Official Policies Governing Online Marketing

 Section 5 of The FTC Act
 TCPA

 Can-SPAM Act

 Dot Com Disclosures

 Native Advertising Guidelines

 FTC Bizopp Rules

Intellectual Property in Internet Law

Copyright protects authors' rights to their own material so that other

people cannot manipulate, steal, or earn profit from it. Naturally,
copyright applies to online content just as it does to more tangible work.
It is helpful for organizations and individuals to place copyright and
trademark signs on their websites and other materials to express their
ownership and warn people not to steal or misuse their work.
Likewise, businesses should formally register their domain names to
prevent cybersquatting (buying domain names with company slogans).
This has become harder, though, since many endings besides ".com" are
now possible.

Basic Principle
 You cannot steal a copyright, trademark, or patent, and you
certainly cannot profit from doing so.
 You should check for a creative commons or fair use agreement
before using another party's photograph or other visual.

 You are unlikely to be able to copyright website code.

 If you wish to hire a ghostwriter, receive formal acceptance from

them that you will use their work exclusively for your means when
they have finished its writing. Otherwise, they may still own the
rights to their work.
  Plagiarism must still be avoided, even when "article spinning."

 You can register your work formally via copyright through the U.S.
Patent and Trademark Office, as well as equivalent state services.

 Although using a competitor's name an AdWord marketing ploy is

fine, it's best to consult with a lawyer on the wording of the post.

 Online piracy is not permitted.

Legislation and Developments

 Lanham Act, or the Trademark Act of 1946, which allows exclusive
claim to registered trademarks.
 Digital Millenium Copyright Act, which is a U.S. copyright law that
uses two of the 1996 treatises from the World Intellectual Property
Organization.

 Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (ACPA), which

prevents you from claiming domain names representative of other
legal entities.

 Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, which seeks to expand

copyright laws globally.

 Fair Use Doctrine, which allows you to represent other works for the
purpose of reflection or criticism.

 Uniform Domain Dispute Resolution Process, which can prevent or

resolve domain name disputes.

 No Electronic Theft Act, which compels you to respect copyright

whether or not you have profit in mind.

Other relevant acts include the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, the Right
of Publicity Act, the Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography
and Marketing Act, and the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).

Internet Laws Regarding Online Defamation

Both state and federal defamation laws govern libel (written defamation)
and slander (spoken defamation) online. Keep in mind the following
principles:
 To win a libel case, you must prove that a claim was false, harmful,
and negligent.
  Opinion is not necessarily slander or libel under U.S. law, but if the
opinion is mixed with untruths or manipulations of the truth, it can
be considered defamation.

 In some cases, the identity of an anonymous author can be

uncovered for a libel lawsuit.

 Often, online libel cases are resolved without a full court case.

 Truth can be used as a defense in slander and libel cases, with

exceptions.

 Sometimes, libel can be removed or redacted from online forums.

 For famous people, the rules are different. Public figures need to
meet a higher standard of evidence when charging someone with
slander or libel.

Internet Laws Regarding Online Privacy

Privacy and free speech are often at odds with one another, and while the
U.S. constitution does not address privacy, the First Amendment does
grant the right to free speech. Privacy might get in the way of that,
creating a sense of unwanted censorship.
However, your privacy is protected to an extent through other legislation.
For instance, revenge porn laws provide a legal recourse for those whose
ex-partners post iliicit pictures of them online without their consent.
There are also policies that prohibit the publication of private data and
protect information in particular areas, such as the Children's Online
Privacy Protection Act, HIPPA, and the Financial Modernization Act. The
FTC can even hold businesses liable for damages if they don't take steps
to prevent hacking.
Further online privacy laws are mandated by the state of California, and
commercial sites in the state must abide by their requirements.

Data Use Notices

A data use notice should be included on any site that collects personal
data. The notice should define the reasons and uses for the data
collected, including any data gleaned through cookies or hidden
programs. In the case that information is admittedly used for promotional
or business purposes, or any other reason that is a non-service to the
consumer, the user must agree to this, usually via opt-in selections.
Laws Governing Online Privacy
 The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act
 The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act

 The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA)

 The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act

Internet Law in the UK

Electronic Commerce Regulations

In 2002, a serious of electronic commerce regulations were initiated, and
the European E-commerce Directive was brought into UK law. These laws
were meant to affirm that electronic contracts are in fact legally
binding, and that they can have the power to control online commerce
behavior across Europe.
Specifically, these regulations are for businesses who sell online, by
email, or by text. It also relates to businesses who advertise via these
mediums, who store content for customers, or who offer a communication
medium online.
The policy states what information about your business you need to give
to clients and what rules to abide by for your marketing. One stipulation
is that promotions should be recognizable and not seem like plain
content. They need to reveal the represented business and what the offer
is exactly. Further, online contracts and terms and conditions should be
printable by customers.
These policies also relate to spam — those advertisements that are
generally unwanted and unwelcome. Customers should be able to identify
spam solely based on the subject line of an email. Spam via text message
doesn't count for this policy.

The UK 1998 Data Protection Act

The UK's Data Protection Act deals with processing information about
living people, and it relates to the data that spans people's lives over the
internet. For example, it governs sites that collect other people's
personal information.
How is personal information defined? Mostly, it is information that relates
to a living person who can be indentified by that informationor by that
information combined with other data available to the website owner.
This includes contact information and data about past events or personal
perspectives.
According to the DPA, such data can be kept for the shortest time
necessary to fulfill its purpose for the requested service, based on
agreement. Encryption can help maintain its security.

Creating Website Agreements

A website agreement is a contract between the site owner and the user.
It can also be called the "Terms of Use" (TOU), "Terms of Service" (TPS),
privacy policy, or disclaimer. Rather than using a template, you should
tailor your website agreement to your specific site. If you copy the terms
of another website, you might even be breaking copyright law. Consult
with an experienced attorney who can help you understand your rights
and the laws regarding frauds, scams, missing data, infringement, photos,
domain names, and more.

Recent U.S. Internet Law Developments

Lawyers, policymakers, and governments often look to recent cases that
occurred in their region in order to decide how to resolve new conflicts.
The following are some recent developments that affect internet law.
Freedom of Speech
In the United States, the public is granted freedom of speech by the First
Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Freedom of speech on the internet
can, in many cases, be a healthy and positive attribute, and the U.S.
Supreme Court has recognized it as such. On February 27, 2017, the
Supreme Court recognized the internet as "a crucially important channel
of political communication."
Given that this freedom is not granted to people in all nations of the
world, the internet has done a great justice in providing the global
community a place to express their thoughts. For this reason, the internet
has been viewed as a springboard for political movements, such as the
Arab Spring.
However, the same countries that restrict freedom of speech often
attempt to increase censorship of the internet. For example, China
attempts to block internet sites from its civilians, and other countries,
such as Singapore, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Tunisia, have done the same.
As a legal concept, freedom of speech often affects the following issues
and themes:
 Privacy
 Data collection

 Fraud

 Bullying

 Harassment

 Terrorism

Net Neutrality
Net neutrality is the set of policies that regulate behaviors of internet
telecommunications — the pathways and networks through which
information is passed, set up, and managed by large companies.
Information is communicated in small "packets" of data that are
transmitted through infrastructures run by telecommunication companies,
governments, and institutions. Net neutrality policies that regulate how
information is sent or received in one state can affect others via a ripple
effect, making this a particulalrly tricky area of internet law.

Photo Sharing Law

It is common nowadays to share photos of yourself and your friends via
social media. However, sometimes people steal photos, post them, and
then request funds for their removal. This is an example of how behavior
on social media can have major real-world consequences. Such situations
can be difficult to resolve, especially given that the perpetrator may be in
a different country.

Cell Phone Tracking Dismissed

When a court case hinged on evidence that came from a cell phone
tracking device, a New York state judge declined to consider such data in
the evaluation of a case. It was decided that such intimate technology
should not be used to gather information, and this ruling may be used as
an example in upcoming cases.

Internet Sex Crimes

Offenders of sex crimes via the internet can be convicted. This includes
those who create and distribute child pornography, as well as those who
create profiles to get people's attention.

Cybersquatting
Cybersquatting is when someone purchases a domain name that signifies
an already established entity or company. Cybersquatting is done with
the intention of earning money from selling the domain name at a future
date. It is illegal in the United States.

Security Protocol
When data relating to the San Bernardino shooting could be traced via an
iPhone 5, a California federal magistrate judge ordered Apple to turn over
the data. Many people were opposed to this anti-privacy ruling, including
the FBI.

Naming Others
There is a significant legal risk to naming people online, whether in
websites or in blogs. If you do so, you could be liable for what you write.

Photograph Copyright Demands

Recently, organizations that authored shared photos have claimed
copyright and attempted to hold others accountable for using their work.
To make sure you are completely aware of your rights, connect with a
cyberlaw attorney before paying any dues demanded.

Privacy on Social Media

It is true that social media welcomes the sharing of lives. However, at the
same time, it is the responsibility of both the public and the social media
entity to preserve a person's privacy and security. Therefore, boundaries
have been created to protect privacy. For example, while countries of
residence might be shared, exact addresses are often not.

Computer Hackers and Crime

If someone enters your computer system, virtually or physically, and uses
it to do illegal things, you may or may not be liable. It depends on the
specifics of the case.

Police Officer Footage

The question of whether it is legal to film or capture police officers came
up when people in the Ferguson, Missouri, riots took such footage.

Ethics Surrounding Science and Technology Law

Articles
It is questionable whether attorneys and experts who discuss legal
questions relating to science and technology are accountable for the
implications of their writings. This includes articles about biotechnology,
chemical law, computer software, data, and more.

The Electronic Communications Privacy Act

The Electronic Communications Privacy Act was developed in 1986.
According to this law, government restrictions on certain activities were
expanded, from the recording of phone calls to the monitoring of
communications sent via computer. The change affected Title III of the
Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968, which was originally
intended to end such witnesses to personal communication.
Liability With Regards to Online Material
Telecommunications companies are generally not liable for damages
caused by information being stolen and shared through their services.

Unlawful Access to Data

It is an offense, with some exceptions noted in various subsections, to
purposefully access communications information without permission, or
to go beyond the authorization one is given. Receiving, changing, or
stopping permitted access to information is also illegal.
Winnings of Copyright Defenders
In a development may inspire future defenses, copyright defendants have
won several victories lately. The winners include Google for Google
Books, Aereo for their 2009 Cablevision ruling, and the Supreme Court
Kirtsaeng ruling to stop international price discrimination for copyright
holders.

Gmail's Decision Regarding ECPA

Judge Lucy Koh's ruled that Google's ads featured within Gmail accounts
may violate privacy law within the Electronic Communications Privacy
Act (ECPA).

The Federal Trade Commission's Internet Crackdown

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has been making consent
agreements with major internet and social media companies such as
Google and Facebook. They began working with native ads, which are
online ads that look like plain text, as well as other disingenuous
material, such as online advertisements targeted towards children. They
held an important case against Wyndham Hotels and are continuing to
work at regulating online behavior.

Lessening of Keyword Advertising Trademark

Lawsuits
Keyword advertising lawsuits rarely win court cases and do not generally
pan out financially. Even Google has nearly resolved its trademarks
challenges to AdWords. In Wisconsin, a court rejected a publicity rights
concern, and the Tenth Circuit killed off a trademark query. The Florida
State Bar even closed the possibility of banning lawyers from using
keyword advertising. Keyword advertising lawsuits should not be much of
a concern in the future.

Copyright Changes
17 USC 512 is the law that indicates that websites are not responsible for
user-created copyright infringement, yet Section 512(c) indicates that
they should be — especially if the copyright owners request the content
to be taken down and such requests are ignored. Recent problems for
discussion include the dating of material, such as in the Grooveshark
case, when pre-1972 recordings were not relevant to Section 512.
Also, courts have made it more likely for sites to be held responsible for
users breaking copyright law, even when the copyright holder did not give
notice.
Finally, investors may still be liable for infringement, even if the websites
are not. Therefore, Section 512 is not necessarily a safe harbor for us all,
and there is much yet to be decided.

Government Employees and Social Media

Government employees have gotten into trouble with social media due to
over-sharing or lack of professionalism. There was also a question
regarding whether government employees should be fired for speaking
out against their employers on social media. Such posts have dire
consequences because we rely on government officials to apply policies
without bias.

Patent Policy
Patent reform occurred when Congress created the America Invents
Act (AIA) in 2011. Since then, Congress has been considering what else
can be done to shut down abusive patent enforcement. Outside of
Congress, the state of Vermont created a law to stop patent trolling, and
lawyers have brought cases against senders of patent enforcement
letters. The Supreme Court has also reviewed several cases regarding
patent-related topics, keeping the issue in flux.

Revisiting the 47 USC 230

The 47 USC 230 was created by Congress in 1996. Section 230 states
that websites are not responsible for third party content. Clearly, this is a
defining law with wide-reaching implications. User-generated content
sites benefit from it, but plaintiffs with complaints have suffered losses.
In 2010, Section 230 expanded via the Speech Act.
In 2013, some content became exceptionally harmful, and for this reason,
Section 230 is beginning to receive more criticism. Online prostitution
advertisements that are possibly connected to sex trafficking are a
prominent example. State legislatures have passed new laws to
challenge these problems.
Sometimes, judges simply ignore Section 230. In 2013, state attorneys
general asked Congress to reform it, and revenge porn advocates are
fighting it as well. This advocacy has already made some headway.

Outdated and Updated Cyberlaw Legislation

The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act

Since any sort of hacking or lying to enter into a system is illegal

according to this law, a normal internet user could technically be
prosecuted for what is now considered normative online behaviour. For
example, it's forbidden to access a protected computer — but many
people do this all the time, using their friends' or relatives' devices. Users
who fail to follow a site's terms of service could also be charged under
federal and state laws. The offense could be as simple a lying about your
martial status on an eHarmony profile.
Aaron Swartz was threatened with 35 years in prison for apparently
stealing academic articles with the plan to release them and later
committed suicide. After his death, Aaron's Law was passed to amend the
CFAA by addressing the terms of service issue, so that violating this
would no longer be a crime. Now, a hacker must break a significant
barrier in order to be charged.

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act incorporated two copyright
treatises in the hopes of controlling and manifesting rules of copyright
online. Although some major movie studios feel the 1998 law doesn't do
enough, many people dislike the restriveness of the law. They feel the
internet is a place for freedom and that this might sometimes include
infringing upon copyright.
The DMCA permits companies to send notices when someone breaks
policy, urging them to remove the copyrighted material. Often, companies
will agree, in order to avoid the hassle of a court case, but that doesn't
mean the act isn't impeding freedom of speech. It can be used against the
following people:
 Teachers who use copyright materials for educational purposes
  Researchers like Niels Ferguson, who discovered a security problem
on Intel but cannot release his findings

 Music creators who do experimental mix music with pre-recorded

titles or those who post via Youtube

 Youtube users whose videos include copyrighted music playing the

background

 Visually impaired people who use special programs, such as screen

readers, to "read" e-books

The law also ffects cell phones. You cannot unlock a cell phone because
providers place within them their own software. Changing the phone
would mean affecting the company software, thus violating their
copyright.
Rep. Zoe Lofgren introduced a bill to protect people who modify devices
for this purpose, but it has yet to be acted upon.

The Electronic Communications Privacy Act

The Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986 restricts government
taps in telecommunications. Service providers cannot release data
without consent, or to the police or FBI without a warrant, if the material
has been stored for less than six months.
At the time of this law was passed, however, most telecommunications
data was not maintained for longer than thirty or ninety days, and
nowadays, some people keep messages or emails forever. Thanks to the
six-month clause that is still in effect, police can easily retrieve
information with only a subpeona.
Further, the ECPA permitted National Security Letters (NSLs), which are
documents from the FBI that force the revelation of online records. Again,
technology has changed since the law was passed. In 1986, phone
companies could offer up records of calls with basic info such as a phone
number and date or time of call. Now phone bills typically list only a few
details, such as the monthly charge and amount of data used, but
providers have access to much more information, and much of it is deeply
personal in nature.
The National Security Letters could now be used to summon data such as
which web addresses a user visited, how big an email was, and what time
they logged into a chat session. The FBI is not allowed to retrieve email
content via an NSL, but metadata can be manipulated to construct or
understand content. Naturally, the FBI will attempt what they can within
the limitations of this law.
Further, the Justice Department can apply an aspect of the law to receive
the location data of cell phones without a warrant. This remains true
depsite the fact that the Supreme ruled in 2012 that a warrant is needed
to place a GPS device on a car.
Of course, when the ECPA was initiated, none of what we now have was
conceivable. Bills introduced in March of 2013 to mandate that police to
get a warrant before retrieving location data from telecommunication
personnel, but these bills have not yet moved forward.

Why Is There So Much Online Crime?

Despite the policies, regulations, and security screenings, many people
commit crimes online. So many business and financial transactions take
place online that it is still a prime territory for criminal activity, despite
its many defenses.
Additionally, as stated previously, with regulations differing from nation
to nation, it can be difficult to prosecute those who are guilty of offenses.
Criminals can set up many disguises via the net and across the globe.
Police continuously improve their methods, however, and do their best
to enforce the regulations we presently have.

Pop Internet Laws

Through the use and abuse of the internet, the public has come up with
its own rules. These "laws" should not be mistaken for actual legislation.
A few examples follow:
 Godwin's Law
 Rule 34 and 35

 Skitt's Law

 Scopie's Law

 Danth's Law (also known as Parker's Law)

 Pommer's Law

 DeMyer's Laws
  Cohen's Law

 The Law of Exclamation

Perhaps the most famous example is is Poe's Law, which requests that all
mocking of fundamentalist thought must include a winking smiley —
otherwise, people will believe the poster to be serious. Nathan Poe came
up with this idea in 2005. He attests that people who are non-
fundamentalists will often mistake sincere fundamentalist thought for
jokes and vice versa.
The fake news phenomenon of the 2016 electrion cycle demonstrates
how easily lies and satire can be mistaken for truth and sincerity. Several
"news" stories were widely circulated on social media platforms that
turned out to be pure fiction, causing confusion and real-world
consequences.

Cyberlaw Policy Organizations

As global companies, lawyers, and policy makers attempt to decipher and
implement new practices in regards to cyberlaw, numerous organizations
have developed in order to relate to the relevant fields of practice.
 Adult Internet Law: AdultInternetLaw.com gives legal advice to
adult businesses and aims to protect them from risk.

 Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF): Since its development in

1990, EFF has prevented the loss of freedom from the development
of new devices. The EFF defends free speech, privacy, innovation,
and consumer rights as well as digital rights.

 Internet Society (ISOC): The Internet Society, created in 1992,

offers leadership training for internet-related standards, education,
and policy. It inspires development and growth and helps people use
the internet to their benefit.

Publications About Internet Law

Also helpful are the numerous publications related to internet policy,
which can be used for furthering one's own knowledge, or for
professionals who administer and regulate the law.
 ACLU Internet Censorship: ACLU's publication makes an appeal for
uncensored internet use. This desire was upheld by the Supreme
 Court in light of the First Amendment. Just as people can speak
freely in person, they can do so online.

 BitLaw-Internet Law and Intellectual Property Rights: This

resource acknowledges that internet law and intellectual property
rights are still in a state of flux. It provides information to enable
their ongoing development.

 Internet Governance Forum: The Internet Governance Forum

(IGF) is run by the IGF Secretariat. It backs up the United Nations
Secretary-General, helping to express the goals of the World Summit
on Information Society (WSIS) and create a dialogue for multiple
stakeholders.
If you are facing an issue related to cyberlaw or any of the issues listed
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lawyers who are well-versed in the complexities of internet law. They
understand how cyberlaw factors into multiple fields of law, such as
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help resolve internet-related legal issues.

Cyber Law also called IT Law is the law regarding Information-technology

including computers and the internet. It is related to legal informatics and
supervises the digital circulation of information, software, information security,
and e-commerce.

IT law does not consist of a separate area of law rather it encloses aspects of
contract, intellectual property, privacy, and data protection laws. Intellectual
property is a key element of IT law. The area of software license is controversial
and still evolving in Europe and elsewhere.

According to the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology,

Government of India :

Cyber Laws yields legal recognition to electronic documents and a structure to

support e-filing and e-commerce transactions and also provides a legal
structure to reduce, check cyber crimes.
Importance of Cyber Law:
1. It covers all transactions over the internet.
2. It keeps eye on all activities over the internet.
3. It touches every action and every reaction in cyberspace.

Area of Cyber Law:

Cyber laws contain different types of purposes. Some laws create rules for how
individuals and companies may use computers and the internet while some
laws protect people from becoming the victims of crime through unscrupulous
activities on the internet. The major areas of cyber law include:
1. Fraud:
Consumers depend on cyber laws to protect them from online fraud. Laws
are made to prevent identity theft, credit card theft, and other financial
crimes that happen online. A person who commits identity theft may face
confederate or state criminal charges. They might also encounter a civil
action brought by a victim. Cyber lawyers work to both defend and prosecute
against allegations of fraud using the internet.

2. Copyright:
The internet has made copyright violations easier. In the early days of online
communication, copyright violations were too easy. Both companies and
individuals need lawyers to bring an action to impose copyright protections.
Copyright violation is an area of cyber law that protects the rights of
individuals and companies to profit from their creative works.

3. Defamation:
Several personnel uses the internet to speak their mind. When people use
the internet to say things that are not true, it can cross the line into
defamation. Defamation laws are civil laws that save individuals from fake
public statements that can harm a business or someone’s reputation. When
people use the internet to make statements that violate civil laws, that is
called Defamation law.

4. Harassment and Stalking:

Sometimes online statements can violate criminal laws that forbid
harassment and stalking. When a person makes threatening statements
again and again about someone else online, there is a violation of both civil
and criminal laws. Cyber lawyers both prosecute and defend people when
stalking occurs using the internet and other forms of electronic
communication.

5. Freedom of Speech:
Freedom of speech is an important area of cyber law. Even though cyber
laws forbid certain behaviors online, freedom of speech laws also allows
 people to speak their minds. Cyber lawyers must advise their clients on the
limits of free speech including laws that prohibit obscenity. Cyber lawyers
may also defend their clients when there is a debate about whether their
actions consist of permissible free speech.

6. Trade Secrets:
Companies doing business online often depend on cyber laws to protect
their trade secrets. For example, Google and other online search engines
spend lots of time developing the algorithms that produce search results.
They also spend a great deal of time developing other features like maps,
intelligent assistance, and flight search services to name a few. Cyber laws
help these companies to take legal action as necessary to protect their trade
secrets.

7. Contracts and Employment Law:

Every time you click a button that says you agree to the terms and conditions
of using a website, you have used cyber law. There are terms and conditions
for every website that are somehow related to privacy concerns.

Advantages of Cyber Law:

 Organizations are now able to carry out e-commerce using the legal
infrastructure provided by the Act.

 Digital signatures have been given legal validity and sanction in the Act.

 It has opened the doors for the entry of corporate companies for issuing
Digital Signatures Certificates in the business of being Certifying Authorities.

 It allows Government to issue notifications on the web thus heralding e-

governance.

 It gives authority to the companies or organizations to file any form,

application, or any other document with any office, authority, body, or agency
owned or controlled by the suitable Government in e-form using such e-form
as may be prescribed by the suitable Government.
 The IT Act also addresses the important issues of security, which are so
critical to the success of electronic transactions.

 Cyber Law provides both hardware and software security.

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RIGHTS PROTECTED : Under this law Copyright law protects the

copyright of authors, musicians, etc. Copyright is essentially a right to copy.
Copyright is a term describing rights given to creators for their literary and artistic
works. It’s an intellectual property, if an individual owns the copyright to
something, then he’s the only owner of it and also the decider that who can copy
it. Copyright doesn’t protect all forms of information from copying but it provides
a useful bundle of rights that protects data on the Internet and electronic bulletin
board systems. In most cases, the impact of loss on the internet is greater because
the internet is borderless and infringing materials can travel across different
geographical regions within a few seconds. Detecting infringements of property
rights is a fairly complex task both in the online as well as offline world. Internet
technology is developing faster than the laws that govern it. Laws that apply to
the internet have been established either by legislation or the courts; copyright
laws are among them. A standard myth about the Internet is that anything posted
online can be copied or downloaded. Anything you see on the web has the
potential of being protected by copyright just like anything you see in the library
or bookstore.

Copyright ActEasy Infringement of IPR in the internet age: It’s very easy to
replicate data in the electronic form and piracy of music using CD Rom sharing
networks is so very common. Within the case of CIT v. Oracle Software India
Ltd, the court held that duplicating CD reception may amount to piracy and
violation of Section 14 of the Copyright Act, 1957. Duplicating may be a process
of copying data from a source medium to a destination medium that has the
physical form. Consistent with the recent report of the Indian Federation of
Phonographic Industry (IFPI), music piracy has reached unacceptable levels in
India, China, Brazil, Indonesia, and Pakistan.

Protecting Copyright within the E-WORLD

• Online property works in the form of music, literary work, and images are
transformed into the binary language of 0 or 1’s. The electronic works are stored
in bits and bytes and processed by computers. The human-readable content is
converted into computer-readable language. The digital representation of the work
could mean the reproduction of the work itself. In light of this fact, the Copyright
Law has evolved when used or read in conjunction with computers and the
internet.

• New Verities Of Hybrid IP Infringements aside from conventional

infringements of intellectual property, pose a high challenge to the enforcement
authorities. Despite technological measures and legal frameworks, combating
copyright infringements continues to be a serious challenge in cyberspace.

• Definition Of use In It Age, the authors hold exclusive rights in their works for a
particular term subject to the right to use work for fair use. After the term of
protection expires, the copyrighted work is out there in the public domain and the
rights of the author terminate. The definition of ‘fair use varies from jurisdiction
to jurisdiction.

COPYRIGHT ISSUES ON THE INTERNET

• DOWNLOADING AND UPLOADING: Downloading involves producing a
replica or reproduction of the file copied. It’s prudent to check if a website allows
downloading the files or programs and any restrictions it places on its commercial
use. Uploading means sending the knowledge from a personal computer/mobile
device to another system as a server to remotely store a copy of the data. For
instance, users upload their pictures on the server of Picasa or upload their videos
on YouTube.

• CACHING: ‘Caching’ means a temporary copy generated by the RAM at the

user’s end and ‘proxy caching’ occurs at the server’s end. The concept of caching
falls under the exceptions of infringement of copyright as fair dealing. A client
cache gets stored within the browser’s software of a client. It’s going to be of two
kinds namely, persistent and non-persistent cache.

• MP3 REVOLUTION (DERIVATIVE WORKS) MP3 stands for MPEG audio

layer 3. It’s a compressed audio file that becomes inferior if it is compressed
beyond a particular point. There are many companies like Napster that allow Peer
to see (P2P) file sharing of digital music which is copyright protected. Napster
faced action for copyright infringement in cyberspace. The court considered the
use exception for P2P file sharing and the liability of its service providers
allowing such file sharing. From centralized distribution, the methods of file
sharing of digital music have shifted to a decentralized approach through new
technology like BitTorrent.

COPYRIGHT (AMENDMENT) ACT, 2012 : The Copyright (Amendment) Act,

2012 inserted Section 65A within the Copyright Act, 1957, wherein protection of
technological measures has been provided. consistent with Section 65A, a person
who circumvents an effective technological measure applied for the purpose of
protecting rights conferred by the act with the intention of infringing such rights,
he shall be punishable with imprisonment which will extend to two years, and
liable for a fine. Section 65A (2) lists certain activities that form exceptions to
Section 65A (1). Any act in Section 65A (1) that’s not expressly prohibited by the
Copyright Act, 1957 provided an entire record of such person is maintained to
identify him and the purpose for which he has been facilitated forms first
exclusion in Section 65 (2)(a). Doing anything necessary to conduct encryption
research using lawfully encrypted copy is permitted as an exception in Section
65A (2) (B). Conducting any lawful investigation is additionally permissible as
per Section 65A (2) (c). Doing any act necessary for the aim of testing the
security of a computer system or a computer network with the authorization of its
owner is permitted as per section 65A (1) (D), or by the operator (section 65A (1)
(E) or doing anything necessary to bypass technological measures intended for
identification or surveillance of a user (Section 65A (1)(f)) or taking measures
necessary in the interest of national security. Section 65B provides for the cover
of rights management information. a person who knowingly removes or alters any
rights management information without authority, or distributes, imports for
distribution, broadcasts, or communicates to the general public, without authority,
copies of any work or performance knowing that electronic rights management
information has been removed or altered without authority shall be punishable
with imprisonment which can extend to two years and also be liable to fine. The
proviso to Section 65B of the Copyright Act, 1957, inserted by amendment,
provides that an owner of copyright during a work whose rights management
information has been tampered with may also avail civil remedies against persons
infringing his rights.

On the internet, the protection of intellectual property has an important bearing on

the growth of e-commerce. Intellectual Property Rights is a gamut of exclusive
rights conferred by the state upon an individual or entity for an effort made by a
person using his mind, skill, and judgment to create a tangible and intangible
property that has a special value in society. Effective legal implementation is
needed to combat IP infringements. Corporate entities should develop, monitor,
and protect their Intellectual Property including registering their domain names
bearing trademarks in order to avoid cybersquatting. Use of electronic evidence
should be encouraged in order to combat IP infringements in cyberspace.