The pace of economic integration and globalization in the world exceeds expectations. Today we take for granted purchases on AliExpress or businesses on Amazon. However, the “ocean” of e-commerce, which at first glance seems warm and welcoming, is in fact fraught with many “pitfalls”. Among them are various aspects of legal regulation.

Today we can talk about the emergence and development of a new direction of jurisprudence - this is the support of international e-commerce. This area of ​​law requires specialists in deep knowledge in three areas: firstly, national legislation, secondly, international conventions and agreements in this industry, and thirdly, the rules of law of that particular country with which trade is carried out. As such, the unification of e-commerce law has not yet taken place. If an entrepreneur enters a new foreign market, he will have to play by the rules in force there.

Why is China's e-commerce law among the most popular international trade events all year round?

Experts say that one of the first regulations to regulate e-commerce was the Utah Electronic Signature Act in 1995. Along with this, already in 1996, the UN Commission on International Trade Law developed a model law on electronic commerce and guidelines for its adoption. About four years later, in 2000, the European Union legislature passed the Electronic Commerce Directive.

At the time, it seemed that the creation of a unified standard for global e-commerce was just around the corner. But 19 years have passed and this has not happened. New and new directives were developed, conventions were adopted, multilateral agreements were concluded. However, local regulatory legal acts continue to play a decisive role in e-commerce. An example of this is the Law of the People's Republic of China "On Electronic Commerce", adopted on August 31, 2018 and entered into force on January 1, 2019.

This law has been literally spelled out throughout the year by lawyers from the USA and Europe. There is nothing to be surprised: China continues to hold the lead as the largest e-commerce market in the world. Last year, its turnover was $ 1526 billion. For comparison, the volume of the e-commerce market in the United States is $ 526 billion (this is 3 times less, although the country is in second place in the world ranking after China). Therefore, Chinese law is closely studied by lawyers around the world. In one way or another, other countries will be guided by it, adopting new legislative acts in this direction.

What problems do clients turn to a lawyer when starting an e-commerce business abroad?

Let's consider a simple example - trading on Amazon. Today, this mega-popular American marketplace brings together over 2 million sellers from over 100 countries. For the supply of most goods, rather complex administrative and customs barriers must be passed. The import of goods from certain raw materials may be prohibited altogether.

Along with this, entrepreneurs use a different scheme to build their business on Amazon. We are talking about entering Chinese manufacturers, creating our own brand (Private Label), improving the product together with Chinese partners, and then entering the American marketplace with it. Goods from China are sent directly to Amazon warehouses. It does not even go to the country of origin. From a certain point of view, such a scheme of work is associated with lower risks and costs.

So, an e-commerce lawyer deals with a fairly wide range of issues. This is the Due Diligence of the counterparty, and the development of a draft contract for foreign economic activity, and the miscalculation of customs risks, and the assessment of the entire range of issues on the protection of intellectual property, and many other points.

We are talking about the application of rather complex legal instruments. However, a lawyer can start with a fairly simple check of the site (Internet platform), with which it is planned to conduct international trade.

An indicative checklist for verification is as follows:

If you plan to subscribe to the newsletter, you must first register the user's consent to the data protection policy. This is a separate page under the link. At the bottom of the page, the user is prompted to put a check mark or checkbox in agreement. This also applies to purchases where personal information is provided.

It is necessary to inform the user about the use of cookies using an interactive banner or pop-up window.

There must be at least one way of contacting the seller on the page. For example, the user has the right to learn more about the seller's contractual obligations with regard to the contract for the sale of goods or services. Contact information is a phone number, email address, feedback form, and so on.

Before completing the purchase, the client should be provided with the most complete information about the options and delivery times, methods of payment, the possibilities of canceling the order and returning the goods (if we are not talking about goods that cannot be returned).

The buyer should provide confirmation of acceptance of the order within 24 hours (via e-mail, phone notification or messenger).

In some cases, when developing e-commerce, it is very important to focus on the issue of protecting intellectual property objects (trademarks, patents, copyright). Entering a foreign market is sometimes advisable only on condition of international registration of a trademark. This is a rather complicated procedure, which is only slightly simplified for the member states of the Madrid Agreement. The cost depends on the number of countries where the trademark will be protected, on the number of classes, filing an application in color or black and white.

Summing up the above, it is worth emphasizing the importance of solving the problem of unification of law in the field of e-commerce for the world community. In the meantime, the risks in this field continue to remain high, and the trend towards the priority of local legal norms continues. In order to continuously monitor them, appropriate online platforms are being created for lawyers.

The specialist is given the opportunity to quickly receive information about any so-called "cyber law" adopted in a particular country of the world. Practice is also important. The more practical issues are resolved, the more effective and affordable services become for each specific client.