Review of "Internet and e-commerce law"

Andrew Field reviews Internet and e-commerce law in the February 2008 issue of the Law Institute Journal.

Internet and E-Commerce Law
B Fitzgerald, A Fitzgerald, G Middleton, Y Lim
and T Beale, Internet and E-Commerce Law:
Technology, law and policy, 2007, Thomson
Lawbook Co, pb $109.95.

If ever evidence was needed that the world is changing rapidly, one need look no further than to the computer screens most of us sit in front of in our workplaces, to the emails we peruse each day, and to the websites brought to us over the internet.

A decade ago, it was not uncommon for a legal practice to operate without the need for email or access to the internet. Today, such a notion is barely conceivable. The impact of the internet on commerce generally and to the law related to that commerce is just as profound. A decade ago the search for some black letter law or some guidance on how to deal with a legal dispute which concerned cyberspace could be a futile task. However, this has now changed. The multi-authored Internet and E-Commerce Law is clear evidence of this.

The theme of change over the past decade is one which prevails in this new text. However, it reflects a reality which we have all witnessed. The search for references in this area during the 1990s usually yielded a few government sources, including discussion papers and committee reports (usually themselves based on the same sources) supplemented by a few conference papers presented by brave lawyers venturing into what they perceived to be the new practice growth area. The end of the last century and the dawning of the new coincided with action by governments to introduce legislation to cater to the new electronic era, including initially the Electronic Transactions Act and numerous statutes designed to deal with intellectual property. However, it also saw the emerging body of case law developing
at a parallel rate, including decisions on contracts, defamation, intermediate liability (that is, of ISPs) and, of course, jurisdiction. The strength of this text is that it brings a discussion of all of this material together.

However, Internet and E-Commerce Law goes much further than merely providing an overview of this law. It provides background, and outlines the machinations of various international conferences and summits, explaining the context of decisions which
have led to the legislative movements the past decade has witnessed. It also provides useful outlines of how many internet and www systems operate, including a discussion of how the Domain Names System and Internet Protocol Addresses actually work. It is a background which is most useful for electronic novice practitioners attempting to get their minds around some of this material.

This is undoubtedly a useful text, and a welcome one at that.

Andrew Field
Senior Lecturer
Department of Business Law and Taxation
Monash University