The Electronic Commerce (EC Directive) Regulations 2002
STATUTORY INSTRUMENTS 2002 No. 2013
| Made |
30th July 2002 |
| Laid before Parliament |
31st July 2002 |
| Coming into force |
|
| Regulation 16 |
23rd October 2002 |
| Remainder |
21st August 2002 |
The Secretary of State, being a Minister designated
[1] for the purposes of section 2(2) of the European Communities
Act 1972 [2] in relation to information society
services, in exercise of the powers conferred on her by that section, hereby
makes the following Regulations: -
Citation and commencement
1. - (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Electronic Commerce
(EC Directive) Regulations 2002 and except for regulation 16 shall come into
force on 21st August 2002.
(2). Regulation 16 shall come into force on 23rd October 2002.
Interpretation
2. - (1) In these Regulations and in the Schedule -
"commercial communication" means a communication, in any form, designed to
promote, directly or indirectly, the goods, services or image of any person
pursuing a commercial, industrial or craft activity or exercising a regulated
profession, other than a communication -
(a) consisting only of information allowing direct access to the activity
of that person including a geographic address, a domain name or an electronic
mail address; or (b) relating to the goods, services or image of that person
provided that the communication has been prepared independently of the person
making it (and for this purpose, a communication prepared without financial
consideration is to be taken to have been prepared independently unless the
contrary is shown);
"the Commission" means the Commission of the European Communities;
"consumer" means any natural person who is acting for purposes other than
those of his trade, business or profession;
"coordinated field" means requirements applicable to information society service
providers or information society services, regardless of whether they are
of a general nature or specifically designed for them, and covers requirements
with which the service provider has to comply in respect of -
(a) the taking up of the activity of an information society service, such
as requirements concerning qualifications, authorisation or notification,
and
(b) the pursuit of the activity of an information society service, such as
requirements concerning the behaviour of the service provider, requirements
regarding the quality or content of the service including those applicable
to advertising and contracts, or requirements concerning the liability of
the service provider,
but does not cover requirements such as those applicable to
goods as such, to the delivery of goods or to services not provided by electronic
means;
"the Directive" means Directive 2000/31/EC of the European
Parliament and of the Council of 8 June 2000 on certain legal aspects of information
society services, in particular electronic commerce, in the Internal Market
(Directive on electronic commerce) [3];
"EEA Agreement" means the Agreement on the European Economic
Area signed at Oporto on 2 May 1992 as adjusted by the Protocol signed at
Brussels on 17 March 1993 [4];
"enactment" includes an enactment comprised in Northern Ireland legislation
and comprised in, or an instrument made under, an Act of the Scottish Parliament;
"enforcement action" means any form of enforcement action including, in particular -
(a) in relation to any legal requirement imposed by or under any enactment,
any action taken with a view to or in connection with imposing any sanction
(whether criminal or otherwise) for failure to observe or comply with it;
and
(b) in relation to a permission or authorisation, anything done with a view
to removing or restricting that permission or authorisation;
"enforcement authority" does not include courts but, subject to that, means
any person who is authorised, whether by or under an enactment or otherwise,
to take enforcement action;
"established service provider" means a service provider who is a national
of a member State or a company or firm as mentioned in Article 48 of the Treaty
and who effectively pursues an economic activity by virtue of which he is
a service provider using a fixed establishment in a member State for an indefinite
period, but the presence and use of the technical means and technologies required
to provide the information society service do not, in themselves, constitute
an establishment of the provider; in cases where it cannot be determined from
which of a number of places of establishment a given service is provided,
that service is to be regarded as provided from the place of establishment
where the provider has the centre of his activities relating to that service;
references to a service provider being established or to the establishment
of a service provider shall be construed accordingly;
"information society services" (which is summarised in recital 17 of the Directive
as covering "any service normally provided for remuneration, at a distance,
by means of electronic equipment for the processing (including digital compression)
and storage of data, and at the individual request of a recipient of a service")
has the meaning set out in Article 2(a) of the Directive, (which refers to
Article 1(2) of Directive 98/34/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council
of 22 June 1998 laying down a procedure for the provision of information in
the field of technical standards and regulations [5],
as amended by Directive 98/48/EC of 20 July 1998 [6]);
"member State" includes a State which is a contracting party to the EEA Agreement;
"recipient of the service" means any person who, for professional ends or
otherwise, uses an information society service, in particular for the purposes
of seeking information or making it accessible;
"regulated profession" means any profession within the meaning of either Article
1(d) of Council Directive 89/48/EEC of 21 December 1988 on a general system
for the recognition of higher-education diplomas awarded on completion of
professional education and training of at least three years' duration
[7] or of Article 1(f) of Council Directive 92/51/EEC of
18 June 1992 on a second general system for the recognition of professional
education and training to supplement Directive 89/48/EEC [8];
"service provider" means any person providing an information society service;
"the Treaty" means the treaty establishing the European Community.
(2) In regulation 4 and 5, "requirement"
means any legal requirement under the law of the United Kingdom, or any part
of it, imposed by or under any enactment or otherwise.
(3) Terms used in the Directive other than those in
paragraph (1) above shall have the same meaning as in the Directive.
Exclusions
3. - (1) Nothing in these Regulations shall
apply in respect of -
(a) the field of taxation;
(b) questions relating to information society services covered by the Data
Protection Directive [9] and the Telecommunications
Data Protection Directive [10] and Directive
2002/58/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12th July 2002
concerning the processing of personal data and the protection of privacy in
the electronic communications sector (Directive on privacy and electronic
communications) [11];
(c) questions relating to agreements or practices governed by cartel law;
and
(d) the following activities of information society services -
(i) the activities of a public notary or equivalent professions to the extent
that they involve a direct and specific connection with the exercise of
public authority,
(ii) the representation of a client and defence of his interests before
the courts, and
(iii) betting, gaming or lotteries which involve wagering a stake with monetary
value.
(2) These Regulations shall not apply
in relation to any Act passed on or after the date these Regulations are made
or in exercise of a power to legislate after that date.
(3) In this regulation -
"cartel law" means so much of the law relating to agreements between undertakings,
decisions by associations of undertakings or concerted practices as relates
to agreements to divide the market or fix prices;
"Data Protection Directive" means Directive 95/46/EC of the European Parliament
and of the Council of 24 October 1995 on the protection of individuals with
regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such
data; and
"Telecommunications Data Protection Directive" means Directive 97/66/EC of
the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 December 1997 concerning
the processing of personal data and the protection of privacy in the telecommunications
sector.
Internal market
4. - (1) Subject to paragraph (4) below,
any requirement which falls within the coordinated field shall apply to the
provision of an information society service by a service provider established
in the United Kingdom irrespective of whether that information society service
is provided in the United Kingdom or another member State.
(2) Subject to paragraph (4) below, an enforcement authority
with responsibility in relation to any requirement in paragraph (1) shall ensure
that the provision of an information society service by a service provider established
in the United Kingdom complies with that requirement irrespective of whether
that service is provided in the United Kingdom or another member State and any
power, remedy or procedure for taking enforcement action shall be available
to secure compliance.
(3) Subject to paragraphs (4), (5) and (6) below, any
requirement shall not be applied to the provision of an information society
service by a service provider established in a member State other than the United
Kingdom for reasons which fall within the coordinated field where its application
would restrict the freedom to provide information society services to a person
in the United Kingdom from that member State.
(4) Paragraphs (1), (2) and (3) shall not apply to those
fields in the annex to the Directive set out in the Schedule.
(5) The reference to any requirements the application
of which would restrict the freedom to provide information society services
from another member State in paragraph (3) above does not include any requirement
maintaining the level of protection for public health and consumer interests
established by Community acts.
(6) To the extent that anything in these Regulations
creates any new criminal offence, it shall not be punishable with imprisonment
for more than two years or punishable on summary conviction with imprisonment
for more than three months or with a fine of more than level 5 on the standard
scale (if not calculated on a daily basis) or with a fine of more than £100
a day [12].
Derogations from Regulation 4
5. - (1) Notwithstanding regulation 4(3),
an enforcement authority may take measures, including applying any requirement
which would otherwise not apply by virtue of regulation 4(3) in respect of a
given information society service, where those measures are necessary for reasons
of -
(a) public policy, in particular the prevention, investigation, detection
and prosecution of criminal offences, including the protection of minors and
the fight against any incitement to hatred on grounds of race, sex, religion
or nationality, and violations of human dignity concerning individual persons;
(b) the protection of public health;
(c) public security, including the safeguarding of national security and defence,
or
(d) the protection of consumers, including investors,
and proportionate to those objectives.
(2) Notwithstanding regulation 4(3), in any case where
an enforcement authority with responsibility in relation to the requirement
in question is not party to the proceedings, a court may, on the application
of any person or of its own motion, apply any requirement which would otherwise
not apply by virtue of regulation 4(3) in respect of a given information society
service, if the application of that enactment or requirement is necessary for
and proportionate to any of the objectives set out in paragraph (1) above.
(3) Paragraphs (1) and (2) shall only apply where the
information society service prejudices or presents a serious and grave risk
of prejudice to an objective in paragraph (1)(a) to (d).
(4) Subject to paragraphs (5) and (6), an enforcement
authority shall not take the measures in paragraph (1) above, unless it -
(a) asks the member State in which the service provider is established to
take measures and the member State does not take such measures or they are
inadequate; and
(b) notifies the Commission and the member State in which the service provider
is established of its intention to take such measures.
(5) Paragraph (4) shall not apply
to court proceedings, including preliminary proceedings and acts carried out
in the course of a criminal investigation.
(6) If it appears to the enforcement authority that
the matter is one of urgency, it may take the measures under paragraph (1) without
first asking the member State in which the service provider is established to
take measures and notifying the Commission and the member State in derogation
from paragraph (4).
(7) In a case where a measure is taken pursuant to paragraph
(6) above, the enforcement authority shall notify the measures taken to the
Commission and to the member State concerned in the shortest possible time thereafter
and indicate the reasons for urgency.
(8) In paragraph (2), "court" means any court or tribunal.
General information to be provided by a person providing an information society
service
6. - (1) A person providing an information
society service shall make available to the recipient of the service and any
relevant enforcement authority, in a form and manner which is easily, directly
and permanently accessible, the following information -
(a) the name of the service provider;
(b) the geographic address at which the service provider is established;
(c) the details of the service provider, including his electronic mail address,
which make it possible to contact him rapidly and communicate with him in
a direct and effective manner;
(d) where the service provider is registered in a trade or similar register
available to the public, details of the register in which the service provider
is entered and his registration number, or equivalent means of identification
in that register;
(e) where the provision of the service is subject to an authorisation scheme,
the particulars of the relevant supervisory authority;
(f) where the service provider exercises a regulated profession -
(i) the details of any professional body or similar institution with which
the service provider is registered;
(ii) his professional title and the member State where that title has been
granted;
(iii) a reference to the professional rules applicable to the service provider
in the member State of establishment and the means to access them; and
(g) where the service provider undertakes an activity that
is subject to value added tax, the identification number referred to in Article
22(1) of the sixth Council Directive 77/388/EEC of 17 May 1977 on the harmonisation
of the laws of the member States relating to turnover taxes - Common
system of value added tax: uniform basis of assessment [13].
(2) Where a person providing an information
society service refers to prices, these shall be indicated clearly and unambiguously
and, in particular, shall indicate whether they are inclusive of tax and delivery
costs.
Commercial communications
7. A service provider shall ensure that any commercial
communication provided by him and which constitutes or forms part of an information
society service shall -
(a) be clearly identifiable as a commercial communication;
(b) clearly identify the person on whose behalf the commercial communication
is made;
(c) clearly identify as such any promotional offer (including any discount,
premium or gift) and ensure that any conditions which must be met to qualify
for it are easily accessible, and presented clearly and unambiguously; and
(d) clearly identify as such any promotional competition or game and ensure
that any conditions for participation are easily accessible and presented
clearly and unambiguously.
Unsolicited commercial communications
8. A service provider shall ensure that any unsolicited
commercial communication sent by him by electronic mail is clearly and unambiguously
identifiable as such as soon as it is received.
Information to be provided where contracts are concluded by electronic means
9. - (1) Unless parties who are not consumers
have agreed otherwise, where a contract is to be concluded by electronic means
a service provider shall, prior to an order being placed by the recipient of
a service, provide to that recipient in a clear, comprehensible and unambiguous
manner the information set out in (a) to (d) below -
(a) the different technical steps to follow to conclude the contract;
(b) whether or not the concluded contract will be filed by the service provider
and whether it will be accessible;
(c) the technical means for identifying and correcting input errors prior
to the placing of the order; and
(d) the languages offered for the conclusion of the contract.
(2) Unless parties who are not consumers
have agreed otherwise, a service provider shall indicate which relevant codes
of conduct he subscribes to and give information on how those codes can be consulted
electronically.
(3) Where the service provider provides terms and conditions
applicable to the contract to the recipient, the service provider shall make
them available to him in a way that allows him to store and reproduce them.
(4) The requirements of paragraphs (1) and (2) above
shall not apply to contracts concluded exclusively by exchange of electronic
mail or by equivalent individual communications.
Other information requirements
10. Regulations 6, 7, 8 and 9(1) have effect in addition
to any other information requirements in legislation giving effect to Community
law.
Placing of the order
11. - (1) Unless parties who are not consumers
have agreed otherwise, where the recipient of the service places his order through
technological means, a service provider shall-
(a) acknowledge receipt of the order to the recipient of the service without
undue delay and by electronic means; and
(b) make available to the recipient of the service appropriate, effective
and accessible technical means allowing him to identify and correct input
errors prior to the placing of the order.
(2) For the purposes of paragraph
(1)(a) above -
(a) the order and the acknowledgement of receipt will be deemed to be received
when the parties to whom they are addressed are able to access them; and
(b) the acknowledgement of receipt may take the form of the provision of the
service paid for where that service is an information society service.
(3) The requirements of paragraph
(1) above shall not apply to contracts concluded exclusively by exchange of
electronic mail or by equivalent individual communications.
Meaning of the term "order"
12. Except in relation to regulation 9(1)(c) and regulation
11(1)(b) where "order" shall be the contractual offer, "order" may be but need
not be the contractual offer for the purposes of regulations 9 and 11.
Liability of the service provider
13. The duties imposed by regulations 6, 7, 8, 9(1)
and 11(1)(a) shall be enforceable, at the suit of any recipient of a service,
by an action against the service provider for damages for breach of statutory
duty.
Compliance with Regulation 9(3)
14. Where on request a service provider has failed
to comply with the requirement in regulation 9(3), the recipient may seek an
order from any court having jurisdiction in relation to the contract requiring
that service provider to comply with that requirement.
Right to rescind contract
15. Where a person -
(a) has entered into a contract to which these Regulations apply, and
(b) the service provider has not made available means of allowing him to identify
and correct input errors in compliance with regulation 11(1)(b),
he shall be entitled to rescind the contract unless any court
having jurisdiction in relation to the contract in question orders otherwise
on the application of the service provider.
Amendments to the Stop Now Orders (E.C. Directive) Regulations 2001
16. - (1) The Stop Now Orders (E.C. Directive)
Regulations 2001 [14] are amended as follows.
(2) In regulation 2(3), at the end there shall be added -
" (k) regulations 6, 7, 8, 9, and 11 of the Electronic Commerce (E.C. Directive)
Regulations 2002.".
(3) In Schedule 1, at the end there
shall be added -
" 11. Directive 2000/31/EC of the European Parliament
and of the Council of 8th June 2000 on certain legal aspects of information
society services, in particular electronic commerce, in the Internal Market
(Directive on Electronic Commerce)."[15].
Mere conduit
17. - (1) Where an information society service
is provided which consists of the transmission in a communication network of
information provided by a recipient of the service or the provision of access
to a communication network, the service provider (if he otherwise would) shall
not be liable for damages or for any other pecuniary remedy or for any criminal
sanction as a result of that transmission where the service provider -
(a) did not initiate the transmission;
(b) did not select the receiver of the transmission; and
(c) did not select or modify the information contained in the transmission.
(2) The acts of transmission and of
provision of access referred to in paragraph (1) include the automatic, intermediate
and transient storage of the information transmitted where:
(a) this takes place for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission
in the communication network, and
(b) the information is not stored for any period longer than is reasonably
necessary for the transmission.
Caching
18. Where an information society service is provided
which consists of the transmission in a communication network of information
provided by a recipient of the service, the service provider (if he otherwise
would) shall not be liable for damages or for any other pecuniary remedy or
for any criminal sanction as a result of that transmission where -
(a) the information is the subject of automatic, intermediate and temporary
storage where that storage is for the sole purpose of making more efficient
onward transmission of the information to other recipients of the service
upon their request, and
(b) the service provider -
(i) does not modify the information;
(ii) complies with conditions on access to the information;
(iii) complies with any rules regarding the updating of the information,
specified in a manner widely recognised and used by industry;
(iv) does not interfere with the lawful use of technology, widely recognised
and used by industry, to obtain data on the use of the information; and
(v) acts expeditiously to remove or to disable access to the information
he has stored upon obtaining actual knowledge of the fact that the information
at the initial source of the transmission has been removed from the network,
or access to it has been disabled, or that a court or an administrative
authority has ordered such removal or disablement.
Hosting
19. Where an information society service is provided
which consists of the storage of information provided by a recipient of the
service, the service provider (if he otherwise would) shall not be liable for
damages or for any other pecuniary remedy or for any criminal sanction as a
result of that storage where -
(a) the service provider -
(i) does not have actual knowledge of unlawful activity or information and,
where a claim for damages is made, is not aware of facts or circumstances
from which it would have been apparent to the service provider that the
activity or information was unlawful; or
(ii) upon obtaining such knowledge or awareness, acts expeditiously to remove
or to disable access to the information, and
(b) the recipient of the service was not acting under the
authority or the control of the service provider.
Protection of rights
20. - (1) Nothing in regulations 17, 18
and 19 shall -
(a) prevent a person agreeing different contractual terms; or
(b) affect the rights of any party to apply to a court for relief to prevent
or stop infringement of any rights.
(2) Any power of an administrative
authority to prevent or stop infringement of any rights shall continue to apply
notwithstanding regulations 17, 18 and 19.
Defence in Criminal Proceedings: burden of proof
21. - (1) This regulation applies where a service provider
charged with an offence in criminal proceedings arising out of any transmission,
provision of access or storage falling within regulation 17, 18 or 19 relies
on a defence under any of regulations 17, 18 and 19.
(2) Where evidence is adduced which is sufficient to
raise an issue with respect to that defence, the court or jury shall assume
that the defence is satisfied unless the prosecution proves beyond reasonable
doubt that it is not.
Notice for the purposes of actual knowledge
22.In determining whether a service provider has actual
knowledge for the purposes of regulations 18(b)(v) and 19(a)(i), a court shall
take into account all matters which appear to it in the particular circumstances
to be relevant and, among other things, shall have regard to -
(a) whether a service provider has received a notice through a means of contact
made available in accordance with regulation 6(1)(c), and
(b) the extent to which any notice includes -
(i) the full name and address of the sender of the notice;
(ii) details of the location of the information in question; and
(iii) details of the unlawful nature of the activity or information in question.
Alan Johnson,
Minister of State for Employment Relations Industry and the Regions, Department
of Trade and Industry
30th July 2002
SCHEDULE
Regulation 4(4)
1. Copyright, neighbouring rights, rights referred
to in Directive 87/54/EEC[16] and Directive
96/9/EC [17] and industrial property rights.
2. The freedom of the parties to a contract to choose
the applicable law.
3. Contractual obligations concerning consumer contracts.
4. Formal validity of contracts creating or transferring
rights in real estate where such contracts are subject to mandatory formal requirements
of the law of the member State where the real estate is situated.
5. The permissibility of unsolicited commercial communications
by electronic mail.
EXPLANATORY NOTE
(This note is not part of the regulations)
These Regulations implement Articles 3, 5, 6, 7(1), 10 to
14, 18(2) and 20 of Directive 2000/31/EC of the European Parliament and of
the Council of 8 June 2000 on certain legal aspects of information society
services, in particular electronic commerce, in the Internal Market (Directive
on electronic commerce) [18] ("the Directive")
except in those areas covered by the measures referred to in the paragraph
below.
These Regulations should be read with the Electronic Commerce Directive (Financial
Services and Markets) Regulations 2002 (S.I. 2002/1775), the Financial Services
and Markets Act 2000 (Regulated Activities) (Amendment) (No. 2) Order 2002
(S.I. 2002/1776), The Electronic Commerce Directive (Financial Services and
Markets) (Amendment) Regulations 2002 (S.I. 2002/2015) and the Financial Services
and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) (Amendment) (Electronic Commerce
Directive) Order 2002 (which is expected to be made shortly and to come into
force on 21st August 2002). They make parallel provisions in those areas subject
to regulation by the Financial Services Authority under the Financial Services
and Markets Act 2000.
Regulation 3(1) sets out those matters excluded from the scope of the Regulations.
Regulation 3(2) provides that the Regulations do not have prospective effect.
Regulation 4(1) makes requirements within the coordinated field apply to the
provision of an information society service by a service provider established
in the United Kingdom irrespective of whether that service is provided in
the United Kingdom or in another member State. (Regulation 2(1) defines the
coordinated field as requirements relating to the taking up and pursuit of
the activity of an information society service and defines an information
society service with reference to the definition in Article 2(a) of the Directive.)
Enforcement authorities are required under regulation 4(2) to secure compliance
with those requirements. Conversely, regulation 4(3) provides that requirements
within the coordinated field are not to be applied to information society
services provided by a service provider established in another member State
for reasons which fall within the coordinated field where their application
would restrict the freedom to provide information society services. By virtue
of regulation 4(4), these provisions do not apply to those fields set out
in the Schedule.
Regulation 5 allows an enforcement authority or, where no enforcement authority
is a party to the proceedings, a court to take measures exceptionally in respect
of a given information society service in derogation from regulation 4(3),
where these are necessary for reasons of public policy, public health, public
security, and the protection of consumers and proportionate to those objectives.
Regulation 6 imposes a duty on a person providing an information society service
to make available to the recipient of that service certain information.
Regulation 7 imposes a duty on a service provider to ensure that any commercial
communications constituting or forming part of an information society service
which he provides complies with certain requirements.
Regulation 8 imposes a duty on a service provider to ensure that any unsolicited
commercial communication sent by him is clearly and unambiguously identifiable
as such as soon as it is received.
Regulation 9 imposes a duty on a service provider to provide certain information
where contracts are concluded by electronic means unless parties who are not
consumers have agreed otherwise.
Regulation 10 provides that regulations 6 to 9(1) have effect in addition
to any other information requirements in Community law. These include those
contained in the Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000 (S.I.2000/2334).
Regulation 11 imposes requirements on the service provider in relation to
the placing of an order unless parties who are not consumers have agreed otherwise.
Regulations 13 to 15 set out the consequences of a failure to comply with
regulations 6 to 9 and 11.
Regulation 16 amends the Stop Now Orders (E.C. Directive) Regulations 2001
so that an application can be made under those Regulations for a court order
to stop an infringement of the Directive which harms the collective interests
of consumers. For this purpose, regulations 6, 7, 8, 9, and 11 of these Regulations
are added to the list of the UK legislation implementing the Directives to
which the 2001 Regulations apply.
Regulations 17 to 19 create a defence for intermediary service providers from
any liability incurred from the activities of mere conduits, caching and hosting
in the circumstances set out in those regulations. Regulation 20 provides
that regulations 17 to 19 do not preclude the agreement of different contractual
terms or affect the rights of any party to apply to a court for relief or
the power of any administrative authority to prevent or stop the infringement
of any rights. Regulation 21 makes provision in relation to the burden of
proof in criminal proceedings arising out of the circumstances in regulations
17 to 19. Regulation 22 makes provision in relation to matters which a court
should have regard to when determining whether a service provider has actual
knowledge for the purposes of regulations 18(b)(v) and 19(a)(i).
A transposition note setting out how the main elements of the Directive are
transposed into law and a regulatory impact assessment have been placed in
the libraries of both Houses of Parliament. Copies are also available from
the International Communications Unit, Department of Trade and Industry, Bay
206, 151 Buckingham Palace Road, London SW1W 9SS.
Notes:
[1] S.I. 2001/2555.
back
[2] 1972 c. 68.back
[3] O.J. L178, 17.7.2000, p.1.back
[4] O.J. L1, 3.1.94, p.3 and p.572.back
[5] O.J. L204, 21.7.98, p.37.back
[6] O.J. L217, 5.8.98, p.18.back
[7] O.J. L19, 24.1.89, p.16. Directive as
last amended by Directive 2001/19/EC; O.J. L206, 31.7.2001, p.1.back
[8] O.J. L209, 24.7.92, p.25. Directive as
last amended by Directive 2001/19/EC; O.J. L206, 31.7.2001, p.1.back
[9] O.J. L281, 23.11.95, p.31.back
[10] O.J. L24, 30.1.98, p.1.back
[11] O.J. L201, 31.7.2002, p.37.back
[12] The maximum penalty allowed under paragraph
1(1)(d) of Schedule 2 of the European Communities Act 1972 c. 68.back
[13] O.J. L145, 13.6.77, p.1. Directive
as last amended by Directive 2002/38/EC; O.J. L128, 15.5.2002, p.41.back
[14] S.I. 2001/1422.back
[15] O.J. L178, 17.7.00, p.1.back
[16] Council Directive 87/54/EEC of 16 December
1986 on the legal protection of topographies of semiconductor products; O.J.
L24, 27.1.87, p.36.back
[17] Directive 96/9/EC of the European Parliament
and of the Council of 11 March 1996 on the legal protection of databases; O.J.
L77, 27.3.96, p.20.back
[18] O.J. L178, 17.7.2000, p.1.back
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© Crown copyright 2002 |
- Prepared 9 August 2002
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Problématique
