Internet Technology Building an Internet presence can help businesses increase revenues. As Internet technology has grown, the nation's courts have begun to grapple with disputes arising out of a variety of online business practices. In one suit, a company has accused another company of wrongfully using its name and trademarks through unauthorized links to its Website. This can often give the appearance that the imbedded site is part of the same business or organization. And that can give rise to common law issues of misappropriation, trademark infringement, copyright infringement, false designation of origin, false representation and unfair competition.
More basic activities carry potential legal problems as well.
Use of names, audio, video and text can create trademark and copyright issues. So can the content or design of a Website itself. And selling products through the Internet can cause contract, sales tax and warranty disputes. Even though the Internet may seem to be the next lawless frontier, the old commercial legal rules still apply to the new technology. Using those rules can help businesses stay on the right trail.