This report is for providing advice to the firm which wants to setup an E-Business to sell both physical goods as well as the digitized goods to the athletes throughout Europe. This online business is located in UK and the firm is offering a wide range of physical goods to the athletes such as equipment required for exercise and sports, sports shoes and clothing. The digitized goods that are being offered are e-books related to sports and videos related to exercises and both of these are offered in a downloadable format.
Based on the requirements provided, we will be looking at different aspects required to conduct an online business by taking the law in to consideration.
1. Competitor Survey
A competitor as the one competes with other organisations performing businesses in the same field i.e. providing services or goods related in the same industry (Merriam-Webster, 2010). The competitor in a business may target the similar group of consumers or a different group of audience however the similarity arises when they are providing the goods or services which are similar. A competition in an industry provides the consumers with many benefits as goods or services with high quality, low prices, highly innovative products or services, and most importantly valuable customer service can be provided. According to Chen (1996), competition in the business can create motivation between the organisations The two main types of competitors present in the market currently are:
Direct Competitors and
Indirect Competitors
Direct Competitor: A direct competitor can be defined as the one who fills the requirements of the consumer similar to the primary business that offers same services and products in a targeted market (FastTrac, 2006).
Indirect Competitor: The Indirect competitor sells substitute products or services to the consumers like the primary business and the services and products that are being offered are different to those offered by the primary business (FastTrac, 2006).
For our project, we have identified three competitors that are in to the similar business are we are i.e. performing the similar business online. The three competitors that are have been identified which perform the business online by providing the services and products that are required for our analysis are:
http://www.milletsports.co.uk/
http://www.decathlon.co.uk/EN/
http://www.tennisnuts.com/shop/index.html
All the three businesses offer similar services as what we intend to offer i.e., these websites offer exercise equipment, sports equipment, sports clothing and shoes as well as few digitized content.
1.3 Comparative Assessment
We will be giving a comparative assessment of the five requirements that have been given to us, which are as follows:
Company information
Customer Services
Customer information regarding the rights of customers
Product warranties
Design and ease of website use
1.3.1 Company Information:
The about us section in http://www.milletsports.co.uk/ states about the consumers passion for sports and how they are helping the consumers to find the best products they require at highly competitive prices and the best service to the consumers while in http://www.decathlon.co.uk/EN/ the about us section does not say anything related to the company's information, its mission or any objectives and even after performing a search, much information has not been found regarding the company has not been found except for its registered address. The about us section in http://www.tennisnuts.com/shop/index.html clearly states that they are the specialists and the largest in the industry they are in and provide much information regarding the way they operate their business and how safe it is to shop with them.
The contact information of the websites http://www.milletsports.co.uk/ and http://www.tennisnuts.com/shop/index.html is provided at the bottom of every page while the contact information of http://www.decathlon.co.uk/EN/ has not been provided in the website and after a search we have come to know about the whereabouts.
The contact information of websites http://www.milletsports.co.uk/ and http://www.tennisnuts.com/shop/index.html consisted of the registered company name, VAT registration number, Registered office address, and in addition the website http://www.tennisnuts.com/shop/index.html provides us with information regarding their phone number, enquiries regarding sales, brochures or in general enquiries and even any physical store addresses while the contact information of http://www.decathlon.co.uk/EN/ does not state any of this information.
The company http://www.milletsports.co.uk/ provides information such as their history, privacy and security policies and the terms and conditions while http://www.decathlon.co.uk/EN/ provides information such as legal information and terms of conditions and finally http://www.tennisnuts.com/shop/index.html does not provide any such information.
The company http://www.milletsports.co.uk/ provides users with an option to contact them either offline or online, the company http://www.decathlon.co.uk/EN/ only provides the telephone number and the company http://www.tennisnuts.com/shop/index.html their sales number and individual store numbers.
1.3.2 Customer Services
The company http://www.milletsports.co.uk/ and http://www.tennisnuts.com/shop/index.html provides users with a hotline number with which the users can contact and order any time of the day and any day as it has been stated that they operate 24 hours and 7 days a week, while the other company i.e., http://www.decathlon.co.uk/EN/ does not provide any such facility to their consumers.
The company http://www.milletsports.co.uk/ is providing free delivery as a benefit to the consumers who shop for more than £79 while the other two companies do not provide any such information.
The company http://www.milletsports.co.uk/ provides a currency converter so that the consumers have hassle free service of changing the modes of currency to either GBP or Euros without leaving the website and the rest two companies do not provide any such service.
The company http://www.milletsports.co.uk/ provides two different accounts to the consumers i.e., for educational as well as for business purposes and offers vary in both of them while the rest two companies do not provide any such information.
The company http://www.milletsports.co.uk/ provides some resources such as a guide for buyers, featured articles and any frequently asked questions and the company http://www.tennisnuts.com/shop/index.html provides users with links to interesting articles regarding tennis and the latest news regarding tennis, while the company http://www.decathlon.co.uk/EN/ does not provide any such service.
The company http://www.decathlon.co.uk/EN/ offers workshops related to ski maintenance, restringing the racket, maintain the bike etc., and a unique service of testing the product before actually buying it, a loyalty card with the name of "Decathlon Card" offering premium services to the card holders, and gift cards available for purchase which are valid throughout it chain of stores. A service which allows the consumers to reserve the product so that they collect it instore is also provided to the consumers.
In addition to all these, the company http://www.tennisnuts.com/shop/index.html provides individual links to customers regarding the pricing policies, comparison, procedure to return the goods, procedure to lodge a complaint, delivery terms and conditions, jobs, payment and information regarding shipping. A product catalogue is also provided to the consumers who are interested in and is shipped to the consumer's mailing address.
1.3.3 Customer Information regarding the Rights of Customers
The company http://www.milletsports.co.uk/ provides information regarding the rights of consumers if they receive a faulty product, refunds, exchanges, cancellation, and receiving all the orders at the same time.
The company http://www.decathlon.co.uk/EN/ also provides all the rights to the consumers similar to http://www.milletsports.co.uk/ and more information is provided to the consumers which state the difference of exchanging, refunds, and the advantage of having a decathlon card if a decathlon product or another brand product has been purchased.
The company http://www.tennisnuts.com/shop/index.html provides rights to the consumers such as the right for cancelling the products, returns, and complaints and each one is explained in detail as such how exactly they work.
1.3.4 Product Warranties
All the three companies provide warranties regarding their products but in different ways.
Both the companies' http://www.milletsports.co.uk/ and http://www.tennisnuts.com/shop/index.html states the duration of the warranty available to the consumer when he reads the detail information about the product and even states under which circumstances the product is subject to a warranty varying from product to product. If any product does not have a warranty it is not stated in the information regarding the product and if any guarantee available it is then stated.
The company http://www.decathlon.co.uk/EN/ directly state information regarding this section in the Decathlon Services, which states that a guarantee and nor a warranty exists on all the own brand products and for a different brand product, the warranty differs accordingly and it has been stated clearly that the consumer needs to check the details from the supplier in this regard.
1.3.5 Design and ease of Website
The company http://www.milletsports.co.uk/ has an elegant homepage and everything arranged neatly with the colour combinations matching each other. The offers are stated on the homepage and individual links are put above which are easy to navigate. The hotline number and the currency converter are easily visible and direct links are provided to each and every category of the website. A search option has also been provided which was very efficient and returned quick results. The checkout was easy and the website though appears to have a lot of graphics loads quickly. The one thing of a concern was returning to the homepage which was not provided with all the normal tabs but the navigational flow was provided with which one can go to the homepage.
The company http://www.decathlon.co.uk/EN/ has a very simple website layout with a search option, and a direct link to search for a nearby store. The products are listed on the left hand site and it was easy to find the product however, there was no link on any page to directly go to the homepage and the colours used were not that attractive and the homepage did not contain much information which makes the company look like a famous brand and its was even appealing. Though the website loaded quickly, come of the links such as the legal information open in a new tab rather than opening on the same page.
The company http://www.tennisnuts.com/shop/index.html loaded quickly and had a decent looking homepage with pictures of celebrities and the homepage consisted of the quick links to different products and even the product images were provided through which the consumer can directly look at the image and go to that particular category. The offers were stated on the homepage and all the links in the tab structure have been provided on the homepage.
1.3.6 Best Practices for the five Issues
After looking at the 5 issues, we now recommend the best practice that can be adopted by our company so that we can reach out for the consumer by providing them with the all the requirements.
Company Information: This can be adopted from the company http://www.milletsports.co.uk/ as each and every information has been directly provided to the users so that the consumers can check that we are legal and are safe to shop with
Customer Services: This can be adopted from http://www.tennisnuts.com/shop/index.html as they have provided many services to the consumers and direct links so that the consumers can easily navigate. However, a few features from http://www.decathlon.co.uk/EN/ can also be provided such as the loyalty card service which is very effective for returning consumers.
Customer Information regarding the rights of customers: The best practice would be to follow the way http://www.decathlon.co.uk/EN/ is approaching as they have stated each and every right of the consumer clearly without having to read a lot of material.
Product Warranties: As both the companies i.e. http://www.milletsports.co.uk/ and http://www.tennisnuts.com/shop/index.html follow a similar practice it is advisable to implement the same procedure with our company as well because of the product warranties differing from product to product.
Design and Ease of Website: This can be adopted from http://www.tennisnuts.com/shop/index.html as much information has been clearly stated on the homepage and even the images have been provided through which the consumer can easily navigate directly to the required product. One feature i.e., the currency converter can also be given so that the international consumers can have direct access to the feature without leaving the website.
2. Company Name and Intellectual Property
The most important thing that needs to be taken care of before establishing a company is to decide the name of the company. The company name should not necessarily define the entire range of products that we are offering but it would be an advantage for us if our company name matches the type of services and goods we are offering as the consumers can easily recognise the functionalities of our company with ease which can help us give more business. The company name I chose is "FitnessGoods Ltd" as it best describes our business as we are selling goods and respective services such as sports equipment, exercise equipment, sports clothing, sports shoes, sports e-books and exercise videos. After the name of the company has been chosen, it has to be categorised so that it falls in a particular category.
The 'Companies House' is the body that legally approves the name of the companies in both the UK and Wales after authenticating the processes required so as to register a new company. Many guidelines have been set and these need to be followed accordingly. The various acts that need to be taken in to consideration are the Companies Act 1985, 1989 and the Companies Act 2006 and the Companies Regulations. These are the regulations that are necessary to register a company in the category of "Private Company limited by shares". According to the Companies Act 2006, when currently subscribed to the 'Memorandum of Association', one or more people are allowed to legally form a company as stated by the Companies Legislation.
Firstly, after deciding the name of the company, its availability needs to be checked which requires us to follow definite rules and regulations that have already been stated. Some of the rules are as follows:
The name ends with proper notifications as categorised such as Ltd, LLP, etc.
Approved by the State Secretary (only necessary if required)
Unique name
No prohibited words have been used
The Limited Companies have a definite set of principles. There are two types of limited companies i.e.:
Private Limited company: One single individual who is the shareholder of the company can form the company
Public Limited Company: In order to form this type of company, at least two stakeholders are required.
2.1 Characteristics of a Private Limited Company
Most of the SME's (Small and Medium sized Enterprises) are categorised under private limited.
Such companies can be easily identified as they have the term 'ltd' at the ending. The stocks of the private limited companies are not listed in the stock exchange.
Normally the persons who established such companies take the higher positions so that they have the authority of guiding the operations of the company.
The private limited companies have very few stake holders.
2.2 Procedure to Register a Company
According to the stated requirements, we need to operate from the UK and hence we establish our office in London and register this as our headquarters. According to Crown (2008), as the location of our office is in London, we need to send the required documents to a particular Companies house located in Cardiff. Four documents need to be filled accordingly and sent to the company's house that we are confined to. The four documents are as follows:
Form 10
Form 12
Articles of Association and
Memorandum of Association
Each of these forms requires definite information regarding the company we want to establish. The Form 10 consists of the location we want to establish of company in i.e. London as well as each and every information regarding the director of the company. This information can be highly personal such as the DOB, Place of origin etc. The form 12 consists of a declaration that the required legalities have been fulfilled completely. The next form needs to be filled in front of a witness by all the stakeholders stating that the rules as well as the regulations stated will be followed by the company. The last form i.e. the Memorandum of Association needs to be signed when any one of notary public, solicitor, justice of peace or a commissioner for oaths has been present.
2.3 The Laws and Licences involved to protect the Digital Content
We are selling equipment related to sports and exercises, clothing and shoes related to sports as well as the digital content i.e. e-books and videos that can be downloaded through our website. In order to do this we need to comply with certain standards and acts i.e. the Digital Millennium Copyright Act 1998, Copyright Law of the European Union 1988.
For the digital content i.e. the videos or the movies, the duration would be exactly 70 years starting from the end of the year in which the content has been created. The eCO which provides electronic copyright service for the e-books needs to register our e-books that we are providing the users with.
The goods and services come under a definite class of the trademarks act. The goods we are providing come under the Class 7 and the Class 9 and the services we intend to provide come under the Class 38 and Class 41 accordingly (Trademarks Act, 1994).
2.4 Intellectual Property
The Intellectual Property refers to one's own work i.e. the content that has been created from the mind or thoughts of an individual and these can be names, artistic works, inventions, designs or even symbols that can be used in a business. The copyright's has a different role under the Intellectual property and these are limited to certain duration of holding them. The Intellectual property is subdivided in to two types i.e. the Industrial property and the Copyright. The main aim of existence of the Intellectual Property is to encourage creativity so that the economy can be developed and to ensure that the rights of morality do exist for the creators.
The industrial property contains of trademarks, logos, patents, designs etc.
Copyright consists of movies, films, music, plays, paintings, photographs etc., in short all the artistic works as well as the literary works of an individual.
In order to understand these in depth let us first consider the procedure of obtaining a domain name which clearly emphasizes on the name being unique on the internet. Every work should be unique and should comply with the rules.
2.5 Registering a Domain Name for our Company
After establishing a company, we need to register a domain name so that we can launch our website with that name and users can see our business online. The domain name needs to be unique on the internet and will be identified by an URL (Unified Resource Locator). This URL comes under the DNS. The domain names vary in levels they need to be obtained such as the Top Level, Second, Third and the Fourth level. Each of these levels follows their own rules and these rules vary from each level. These rules judge the names in such a way that no terms and conditions have been violated and all the rules are complied with. The domain name should also comply with the SLD so that the process of registration will be successful.
In order to register for a unique domain name, organisations such as ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) are present. Next after the domain name has been decided, we need to choose a service provider and we currently consider the Nominet in the UK. The Nominet is known for providing high quality service. The Nominet provides a separate type of contract known as the three way contract. According to this contract, the person who is currently registering the domain name i.e. the registrant has contracts with both the Nominet and the Registrar. Both of these are individual and separate contracts.
Both these contracts ensure that the correct procedures have been followed and it has been registered on a particular individual's name. The DRS policy which comes under the contract with the Registrar and the Nominet has certain rules and regulations to be complied with and also states clearly that the domain name is available to the registrar for 2 years and if not registered again after the expiry of the registration term, that domain name will be made available to everyone. The other contract (contract with the registrar) ensures that the registrant and not the registrar is the owner of the domain name.
2.6 Trademarks
A trademark is considered to be a particular form of sign that can differentiate one's work from another. The trademark should not show or explain our intentions i.e. the services and products we are offering to the consumers. A registration with the Companies House in no way means that we can have whichever trademark we want. There are other laws that need to be complied with in order to register a particular trademark (Trademarks Act, 1994).
The trademarks act states that a trademark is not eligible to be registered if:
It is offensive
If they are emblems
Are not clear leading for deception
They describe the goods or services we intend to offer etc.
The trademarks not only differentiate the services and goods but also have varied functions such as a brand name or assurance of quality products, promotion of the goods and services etc.,
2.7 The process of applying for a Trademark
The process of applying for a trademark requires us to fill the forms TM3, FS2 (Intellectual Property office, 2009). This application should be made to the registrar and needs to contain as much information as possible regarding the individual applying for the trademark. The trademark needs to comply with the rules set by the Trademarks Act, 1994.
After the necessary documents have been filled and sent, upon reception the document and the enclosed information is subject to a thorough check by the registrar. Then a certain period is given before actually registering the trademark which satisfies all the requirements and in this period any opposition can be given to the trademark. The section 38 (2) of the trademarks Act, 1994 states clearly regarding this period. And when no objection has been given to the trademark, then it is registered and a definite license is given.
The license can either be limited or it can be a general licence. If a limited licence has been given, then the trademark needs to be used for only a distinct stated market and not each and every product. This needs to be checked and when the grantor signs it, the trademark comes in to effect immediately.
After registering, the company can officially use the ® next to their company.
2.8 Copyright
The Copyrights, Designs and patents Act, 1988 states that the company is the sole owner for each and every information on the website such as the logos, e-books, movies, etc. and information regarding needs to be put up on the website according to the act.
As now we have understood about the trademarks, copyright and the Intellectual property we will advice about the stated cases.
2.9 Advice on the stated Issues
While in Canada, a member of the group saw a trademark of a company that he would like to use: The Trademarks law followed by Canada is completely different as Canada does not come under the Madrid System (WIPO, 2010). Hence we can use the trade mark of the company if that company has not registered the trademark overseas or internationally. Trademarks registered in Canada are confined to the geographical location and do not imply any regulations outside Canada (Canada Trademarks Act, 1985). There are certain rules and regulations a well such as the trademark of the company being copied should not be performing their business in the UK so that the trademark can be used by our company as well.
Using the following domain names
www.sportinglifeuk.com: Though this domain name does not exist, it is similar to the domain name www.sportinglife.com. Hence we can be creating some confusion in the market place but we are not copying the entire domain, according to which this domain name can be used.
www.pumastars.com: this domain name clearly is creating confusion amongst the customers and hence according to the sections Sec 10 (2) (b) of the UK Trademark Law, this can come under typosquatting and hence domain name cannot be used.
www.sportsworld.co.uk: This is a case of parody sites according to the Sec 10 (3) of the UK trademark Law. Even though such a website exists but serves and targets different audiences and products this cannot be the domain name envy but is Parody sites. That means as the trademark already has a certain amount of reputation across UK, it is not permitted to take advantage of that reputation. Hence this domain name cannot be used.
3. Privacy and Data Protection
According to Merriam-Webster (2010), Privacy can be defined as staying away from intrusion that has not been authorised. Though privacy can be of many types, we will be concentrating on the type of privacy involved in the e-commerce. In the UK, the Data Protection Act of 1998 is used to strictly regulate the Privacy of the users in the way the data of the users is processed. In order to check the Compliance towards the act, an independent authority has been formed (ICO, 2010). This is the Information Commissioner's Office.
Data Protection can be regarded as protecting the data that has been stored in the computers so that the data is not misused by other people for their own advantages not taking in to consideration the loss of the individual whose data has been misused.
The Privacy policy of the company should state what kind of information they intend to collect. The information can be collected from the user by requesting him or even without intimating the user. The first set of data is collected in the form of asking his personal details or sensitive data directly. The later part is regarding the cookies that are stored in the user's computers so that they gather the user's information without the user knowing their presence. However, the regulations from the Electronics Communications Directive 2003 are put forward which state that the user needs to be intimated what kind of information and the reason of collecting that information from them invisibly.
3.1 Importance of Privacy
Privacy is very important to and all and is regarded as a fundamental right of every individual and is a highly important possession (Grayling, 2009). It has also been stated that in order for an individual to enjoy his personal space, he has every right to stay private. If no privacy exists, the information regarding an individual is known to others which in many circumstances can harm the individual. Privacy needs to be maintained in many regards so that an individual can grow, and think differently than others.
3.2 Importance of Data Protection
Data is considered the most valuable asset of any organisation. The data may be regarding the company or any individual who has provided the information to the company. We currently take in to consideration the data of the customer. It is the duty of the company to protect the data related to the consumer. In order for an individual to maintain his privacy, his data needs to be protected or their does not exist any chance of staying private in the current internet world.
In order to regulate the companies from misusing the personal data, eight principles have been put forward. We will now look at these issues starting from the point of collecting the information, processing it and storing it accordingly. All these Legal Requirements are based on the Data Protection Act or Legislation of UK.
3.3 Legal Requirements accordingly
Now let us look at the various legal requirements starting from collecting the information and then proceeding to the processing of the personal information, storing and finally transferring the personal information.
3.3.1 Legal Requirements when Collecting the Personal Information:
The personal data is collected for the purpose of the law or any other specified use
No abundant personal information is collected i.e. information that is only required needs to be collected
3.3.2 Legal Requirements of Processing the Personal Information:
The personal information is processed according to the law in a fair manner
The personal information is processed after the users permission has been taken
The personal information is updated regularly so as to be accurate and up to date
3.3.3 Legal Requirements of Storing the Personal Information:
The personal data is not stored once the purpose of collecting it has been fulfilled
The personal data is stored and protected using all the measures required i.e. the technical as well as the organisational
3.3.4 Legal Requirements of Transferring the Personal Information:
The personal data is not transferred outside the European Union. It may be transferred when the country or nation the information is being transferred to have strict data protection laws.
The new laws in force are from the E-Privacy Directive (2002/58/EC). All the marketing done through the electronic means needs to follow the Data Protection and Regulation of Privacy, 1999. When collecting the opinion from the user whether or not to send the marketing content to him firstly he needs to confirm that he can receive the content according to the law of E-Privacy Directive and this has been stated in the recital 17.
Before the cookies are being stored on the consumer's computer, firstly the consumer needs to confirm that he is accepting the cookie and he has been told the functionalities of the cookie according to the 6(2) regulation.
3.4 Three main Issues that need to be addressed in the Privacy policy
Now let us look at the three issues that are required to be identified for our project
3.4.1 Obtaining highly Sensitive Information: The sensitive data regarding the physical condition of the customers is required by our company because we will be selling the physical equipment. When the physical condition has been known we will be checking whether the user can use the equipment directly or needs the consent of a doctor before using it. This is highly important as without providing the user with this advice, he might land up in trouble in the future and can blame the company. This information is required when the user is purchasing the product for own use or for any other member so that proper advice can be given accordingly.
Personal Information given to third parties: Some of the Personal Information of the customer needs to be disclosed to the third parties. These third parties can be either the parties that courier the orders of the consumers or companies that process the payment. The information is given to these companies only when these companies adhere to the Data Protection Act of 1998. Only information to these companies is provided and is not disclosed to any other company without the consent of the user.
Getting the Personal Information of the User: We track the user's behaviour by installing a cookie on their computer and this is solely used for improving the customer experience and providing the relevant articles and products to the consumers based on the study of their behavioural patterns. The cookie is also used to store information about the average session time which enables us to improve the website so that customers can spend more time on our website. These cookies are only used when the user is browsing our website and these cookies contain no personal information that can be identified. And the cookie is only stored after the consumer has agreed to it and had read our purpose of storing it in the computer.
3.5 Advice on the two stated factors by the group:
Now let us advice our company on the legality of the two factors stated by the group
Collecting a large amount of information on all customers shopping online in order to sell some of this information to research companies: According to the Data Protection Act 1998, one of the eight principles state that the Personal Information needs to be collected that is relevant, adequate and does not excess the required needs. Hence, we need to collect only the information we require and not any other information more than we require according to the law. And selling the information to the third party can be done upon confirmation from the user however, only when that third party complies with the regulation of the Data Protection Act 1998.
They intend to ask all customers to state their racial identity: Racial Identity is considered to be the critical part of the entire information collected from the individual (Chavez and DiBrito, 1999). According to the data Protection Act 1998, Racial Identity of the consumer is considered to be the Sensitive information and this information can only be collected under special purposes such as:
Journalism
Artistic
Literary
As our company does not come under any of the above three purposes, we cannot collect the racial identity of the consumers.
4 Advertising and Marketing
The above one is the advertisement that we will be using on our website. The advertisement is very simple and states all the conditions and rules neatly following the CAP Code's rules and regulations. The CAP Code has many principles that an advertisement needs to comply with. According to 2.1 of the CAP Code, the marketing needs to be done in a legal manner, it should be truthful, honest and decent at the same time.
4.1 Understanding the above Advertisement
The phrase stated in our advertisement "Offer valid Till Stock Lasts" is put according to the rules as well as the regulations according to the article 19 of the CPDSR 2000.
The above advertisement is not at all misleading as each and everything is clearly stated on the advertisement and hence complies with the Control of Misleading Advertisements Regulations 2000 (Amendment).
The duration of the offer has been stated at the top of the advertisement saying "offer Ends April 1st, 2010 at 23:59 GMT", is according to the CPDSR 2000 and the article that comes in to effect is the Article 7.
All the hyperlinks present on the advertisement i.e. the hyperlink for the statement "Terms and Conditions Apply" complies with the SGA 1979, UTCC Regulations and the UCTA 1977. According to the law the businesses need to limit the liability in the definite areas. All these terms and conditions need to be stated clearly and in compliance to the act.
4.2 Advice on the legality of:
Now let us consider the cases that we need to provide our advice on:
Starting a 'direct marketing' campaign by sending email advertisements to athletes: According to the ICO (2010), the EC directive 2003 and finally the Data Protection Act 1998, direct marketing such as sending emails can be sent out to the consumers only under certain circumstances. Firstly, permission needs to be got to use their personal details such as the email address so that emails can be sent to them. The email addresses can be got from the consumer when they have checked out a product or signed up as a member of the website. The details can also be used even when the customer has rejected the sale after providing the email address. But the circumstances need to be followed at any cost so as to be legal.
The circumstances are:
The messages that we are sending to the consumer should be similar to the services or products
The customer's details have been obtained when making a sale
The consumer did not click the opt out from marketing messages box
Having a monthly online lottery for customers:
In order to start an online lottery, rules of the Gambling Act 2005 needs to be followed
The primary task would be to register for the lottery to take place
The terms and Conditions also need to state the rules for the lottery, the contract also need be focussed upon as well as the jurisdiction and the law that is applicable also needs to be stated
The rules are changing from 1 September, 2010 where upon the new CAP code rules need to be implemented. The new rule states that these advertisements regarding the lottery need to consider the rules related to the social responsibility not taking in to consideration the various regulatory status.
Advertising a price online but having hidden charges at the point of sale: This cannot be done according to the Consumer protection from the unfair trading regulations 2008 act (Business link, 2010). Each and every company needs to comply with these rules and ban all the traders using wrong commercial practices. The regulations are:
4.2.3.1 Misleading the consumer regarding the price of an item
Providing a false claim in order to get an advantage on the price
Not providing the exact details and leaving the hidden costs like the charges for delivery, any tax applicable.
5 Professionalism and Ethics
Professionalism has no definite meaning however, professionalism refers to the standards that need to be followed or a professional spirit so that all the businesses can run smoothly (dictionaty.com, 2010). Professionalism needs to be followed so that a safe place is provided between the consumers and the businesses as well as between all the businesses. Professionalism is simply adhering to ones set of rules and not trying to cheat others or discriminate others. According to the Data Protection Act, 1998 individuals will be protected from the use of inaccurate personal information, using the personal information for other means rather it is meant to be used for and unauthorised access to the personal information.
If no professionalism exists, no one can rely on any one and business cannot run smoothly. Each business should ensure that they protect the copyright of others, protect the personal information, and any patents (British Computer Society, 2010). The BCS has put four rules so that the main areas are covered such as the Interest of the public, Professional Integrity and Competence, Duty towards the profession and Authority. All the main points regarding these four areas are explained in detail.
Ethics is nothing but few principles and values that are moral in nature. Ethics in simple terms means that a right thing needs to be done at any point of time in a business. The ethics depend from one to another. One point seemed wrong to an individual may be correct for another individual. A company needs to have some ethics so that consumers rely on them. It does not mean that the wrong thing needs to be done and the right thing needs to be done in the perspective of the business. Ethics take many factors in to consideration like the society etc., Ethics is just staying within the law and accepting all the blames if any.
5.1 Ethical Concerns that have been raised
Let us consider the ethical concerns that have been raised so that we can provide the required advice
5.1.1 Keeping track of the buying habits of all customers in order to build a personal profile and target these customers with suitable products in the future: Actually this can be done very easily but according to the law this should not be done as the information needs to be stored for only a limited time and not permanently. This can lead to many problems for the company if the data is put in the wrong hands. Building a personal profile page based on tracking the consumer behaviour gives rise to bad ethics and does not show professionalism in the business we are performing. Using the information for wrong purposes is not appreciated and the consumers may lose confidence on the company if they come to know about this issue as rivals in a business are always looking for loopholes.
5.1.2 Selling products made using cheap labour in developing countries: Many companies do it in order to save money. But this gives rise to many other problems such as increasing the child labour in the countries they are manufacturing products. Due to the availability of huge income according to the developed nations, children will be forced to enter in to the work to earn as much money as they can. This can make the other nations remain in the developing condition for ever. And this can even harm the image of the company when people come to know about this issue. People stop doing business with the brand when such incidents take place making it hard for the company to survive in the market. Every business should think about the world rather than just concentrating on money all the time. For example, the case of Nike which is an international brand faced the same issue and then stopped doing it for a certain extent as customers stopped buying their products.
Selling exercise equipment that is rumoured to be unsafe to use: This is a very serious condition as the consumer's health and safety is put under risk and the company may be banned from doing the business next time. Consumers who have experienced will give feedback to others consumers which finally results in no one buying products. When customers are ready to pay for the original products, doing such cheap things can prove a fatal loss to the brand image of the company.
Secretly monitoring employees using computer software and CCTV: This issue used to be common until the relevant laws came in to existence. Currently performing such acts is not allowed. A company can monitor the employees but the employees need to be told that they are being monitored. Secret monitoring is not allowed under any circumstances. The employee can file a case against the company saying that their privacy has been intruded which leads to all the employees being always doubtful of the company resulting in employees showing no interest in working with the company any more.
5.2 Advice on Online Medical Services:
Offering Online medical consultations where athletes can consult online doctors and doctors advising athletes on medical issues and prescribing drugs online: This involves an additional subscription to the HonCode. The HonCode principles need to be followed in order for a company to give medical advice online. And the doctors who give the online medical help need to be highly professional and also a license from the general medical council is necessary for them.
Athletes buying prescription drugs and medical products directly from the website: For any company to sell online certain affiliations are required. The affiliation that is required in this case is from the RPSBG (Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain). And currently when the athletes want to buy non prescription only drugs, then they need to provide with further details so that their records can be checked in prior to dispatching the drugs.
Advertising the drugs online: Only certain advertisement can be made after complying to the rules of Medicines Act 1968 and even the European Law i.e. the European Community Directive 92/28/EEC. The MHRA needs to give required authorisation in order to sell the drugs online.
Selling drugs bought at a cheaper price overseas: The current law does not allow us to import large quantity of prescription drugs from other nations without a license. A license needs to be got from the DLCU (Drug Licensing and Compliance Unit). This unit checks the reason the drugs are being imported and does not allow any misuse of these drugs. The Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001 comes in to effect.
