Internet/E-Commerce

We have extensive experience representing clients involved in the development, manufacture and distribution of internet and e-commerce technology and services. This representation includes:

• Serving as outside counsel to Salary.com in its acquisition of eComp Data Services, a provider of executive compensation data
• Serving as outside counsel to Opobox, Inc., owner of The Names Database, in its acquisition by Classmates Online, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of United Online, Inc. (NASDAQ: UNTD), a provider of consumer Internet and media services
• Representing Peppercoin, Inc., a payments technology company, in its recent venture capital financing and in preparing a suite of contract forms
• Preparing web terms of use for consumers, and "premium" terms for corporate users, for a company that provides 3D geospacial visualization technology over the Internet.

Legal Services to Internet/E-Commerce Companies

We help clients navigate the myriad legal issues they confront as they either adapt an existing business to the internet or launch a new e-commerce enterprise. The contracting practices, operations and marketing collateral of a business must all be effective within the bounds of the rapidly evolving law in such areas as:

• Electronic commerce transactions and relationships, including website linking, co-branding and co-marketing agreements
• Clickwrap agreements, terms of service and privacy policies
• Internet advertising and sweepstakes
• Libel, defamation, and freedom of speech
• Domain name registration, use, transfer and dispute resolution.

Our attorneys work with these issues on a daily basis, helping clients structure their businesses to compete in both the internet and "old" economies. The range of legal issues typically faced by these companies includes:

• Multimedia content, development, publishing and subscription agreements
• Online services, transactions and relationships
• Private placements, including angel and venture capital investments
• Intellectual property protection
• Employee confidentiality, invention and non-competition agreements
• Employment practices
• Immigration.

We have special expertise in developing standard suites of agreements that work as helpful business tools rather than obstacles to closing sales. We counsel clients regarding the intellectual property involved with their technologies and, when appropriate, involve patent counsel.

We represent internet and e-commerce companies in international relationships and transactions in many countries, including:

• Joint ventures, teaming arrangements, offshore licensing
• Manufacturing, procurement, and research and development operations
• Establishment of subsidiaries, overseas investments and repatriation of profits
• Distributorship termination disputes
• Advice on international intellectual property protection.

To discuss your company's specific legal needs, and how our experienced attorneys might meet them more efficiently and responsively, please contact Jonathan Gworek or Jeffrey Steele.