Chapter 7 - the Environment of Electronic Commerce: Legal, Ethical, and Tax Issues
1. In about 100 words, explain why online businesses might have difficulty limiting the effects of their actions to a relatively small geographic area. * The legal concept of jurisdiction on the Internet is still unclear and ill defined. The relationship between geographic and legal boundaries is based on four elements: power, effects, legitimacy and notice. These elements have helped governments create the legal concept of jurisdiction in the physical world. Because the four elements exist in somewhat different forms on the Internet, the jurisdiction rules that work so well in the physical world do not always work well in the online world.
2. In about 300 words, describe the differences between subject-matter jurisdiction and personal jurisdiction. * Subject-matter jurisdiction is a court’s authority to decide a particular type of dispute. For example, in the U.S, federal courts have subject-matter jurisdiction over issues governed by federal law (such as bankruptcy, copyright, patent and federal tax matters) and state courts have subject-matter jurisdiction over issues governed by state laws (such as professional licensing and state tax matters). If the parties to a contract are both located in the same state, a state court has subject-matter jurisdiction over disputes that arise from the terms of that contract. The rules for determining whether a court has subject-matter jurisdiction are clear and easy to apply. Few disputes arise over subject-matter jurisdiction. * Personal jurisdiction is, in general, determined by the residence of the parties. A court has personal jurisdiction over a case if the defendant is a resident of the state in which the court is located. In such cases, the determination of personal jurisdiction is straightforward. However, an out-of-state person or corporation can also voluntarily submit to the jurisdiction of a particular state court by agreeing to do so in writing or by taking certain actions in the
2. In about 300 words, describe the differences between subject-matter jurisdiction and personal jurisdiction. * Subject-matter jurisdiction is a court’s authority to decide a particular type of dispute. For example, in the U.S, federal courts have subject-matter jurisdiction over issues governed by federal law (such as bankruptcy, copyright, patent and federal tax matters) and state courts have subject-matter jurisdiction over issues governed by state laws (such as professional licensing and state tax matters). If the parties to a contract are both located in the same state, a state court has subject-matter jurisdiction over disputes that arise from the terms of that contract. The rules for determining whether a court has subject-matter jurisdiction are clear and easy to apply. Few disputes arise over subject-matter jurisdiction. * Personal jurisdiction is, in general, determined by the residence of the parties. A court has personal jurisdiction over a case if the defendant is a resident of the state in which the court is located. In such cases, the determination of personal jurisdiction is straightforward. However, an out-of-state person or corporation can also voluntarily submit to the jurisdiction of a particular state court by agreeing to do so in writing or by taking certain actions in the