INTERNET LAW

Internet is not only a sector, is an element for transformation, with a difficult to imagine scope, and needs to be incorporated to the core business and strategic plans in all companies.

The introduction of these new technologies by all type of companies and the rise of a whole new legal issues, (domain registers, industrial and intellectual property rights, data handling, etc) happened almost simultaneously.

We have advised, both the contractual area and jurisdictional court, to the first entrepreneurs who started projects of data sharing (P2P) in Spain, and in the first disputes for domain names claims and recoveries. We use, since the beginning, e-mail and other type of electronic communications as probative means.

Nowadays, as always in a sector on the rise with its particular disputes, an important rise in the workload involved in contracts negotiation has occurred. This happens because many start-ups are on-going through stages as financing, mergers or joint ventures with consolidated companies. This situation, involving companies of different nature, not only in terms of size, but also in economic capacity, mainly compared to the Investment companies, turns into hard negotiations and complicated contract documents elaboration.

Being like this, no company, business, or legal operator, can remain apart to:

Electronic commerce (e-commerce), which is today, the largest channel of transactions (and in some sectors, like Finance, reaches even 90%).
Problems as a result of massive data processing (Big Data), and especially personal data protection, with all type of issues related to individual´s right to privacy and own image.
Crimes of libel and defamation in the Internet, specially coming from Social Networks, and the on-going evolution of the legal regulations on the confidentiality of communications, etc.
The modern way of communicating with Administrations (as requirements of a digital signature when presenting Tributary papers) or relations with Social Security (RED system).
The significance of trust and digital security not only in transactions, but also in communications, the data preservation, its use and assignment to third parties, and the necessity of incorporating encrypting protocols, secure connections (https://), etc.
The new forms of online dispute resolution which require mediation or arbitration mechanisms.
Particularities of technology, know-how, and intangible assets transferring.
Conflicts coming out from Industrial and Intellectual properties, and domains registers on the Internet.
The use of technology in company with customers and employees, limits and rights of its usage and the resolution of the disputes coming from them.

Furthermore, the concept of “Electronic Justice” is starting to be used, as Courts and Tribunals are incorporating and forcing new technologies, as the “Electronic File Paperless”, is being put in effect as from January the 1^st 2016, as well as the usage of the vLex software for counsels intervening those processes, or the system of “E-mail Outfitted”