Browsing by Author "Hofman, Julien"

Now showing 1 - 7 of 7
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    Are contracts concluded on the Internet valid and enforceable ? An analysis of the Law applicable to contracting on the Internet
    (1999) Archbold, Craig; Hofman, Julien
    The Internet allows contractual negotiations to take place electronically between parties in different national and international jurisdictions. A commercial transaction may be concluded and performed electronically without the parties ever having met or communicated with each other in a formal or informal manner. It is a unique technology that may resemble an instantaneous telex in certain instances, and therefore, may invoke prima facie comparisons to the legal principles relating to telephonic or telex communication. However, in other instances the medium resembles a conventional post box, an analogy that immediately invokes the expedition theory.
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    Internet domain names and trademarks: a comparative study of US, German and South Aftican law
    (1999) Schenk, Oliver; Hofman, Julien
    The incredible surge in popularity of the Internet and, in particular, the World Wide Web, has been engendered by the Web's ability to offer virtually instant ac-cess to a universe of information. As communication on the Web reaches an ever-greater population, a golden commercial opportunity has arisen. The Web, from a commercial point of view, is very much a combination of a shop window and an advertising campaign. Branding and, therefore, trademarks are consequently a vital aspect of trading on the Internet. A domain name is a company's address on the Internet, and for the sake of convenience and marketing reasons, the most favoured addresses are those containing the trademark or tradename of the company itself About five million domain names are registered presently, with 70.000 new ones being added each week. ¹ However, unlike most advertising campaigns, an advertisement placed on the Internet will by default be a global campaign. This makes the legal position troublesome in some ways, for trademarks are national by nature. Moreover, unlike trademarks, the same domain name can only be assigned once.
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    The Meaning of the Exclusions in Section 4 of the Electronic communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002
    (Juta Law, 2007) Hofman, Julien
    The Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002 (the ECT Act) came into operation on 30 August 2002. Chapter 3 of the Act recognizes electronic documents, which the ECT Act calls data messages, as the equivalent of hard-copy documents. This applies for ordinary use (s 11) and in cases where the law requires writing (s 12). The ECT Act also makes such records admissible as evidence (s 15). Section 13 provides for advanced electronic signatures as the equivalent of a written signature where the law requires this. (At present it is not possible to use an advanced electronic signature because the Director-General has yet to accredit products and services to support advanced electronic signatures as required by s 37.)
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    Safeguarding a fair copyright balance - contemporary challenges in a changing world : lessons to be learnt from a developing country perspective
    (2009) Schonwetter, Tobias; Hofman, Julien
    This thesis looks at how to achieve a fair copyright balance from the perspective of developing countries. The thesis examines the international legal framework which developing countries such as South Africa have to respect. It analyses the flexibilities in this framework and, in particular, copyright exceptions and limitations. These flexibilities are important because they allow domestic lawmakers to develop countryspecific domestic copyright legislation. The thesis then goes on to discuss why getting the right balance between protecting copyright and giving adequate access to knowledge material is of particular concern for developing countries. As part of this discussion, the thesis looks at the impact of digital technologies on copyright law in general and for the copyright balance in particular.
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    Some legal implications of web linking
    (1999) Roudi, Anuschka; Hofman, Julien
    The explosive expansion of the Internet during the recent years has provoked many lawsuits that left lawyers struggling with the application of traditional, "analogue" law to the new, digital technology. Yet, another pattern of disputes emerges that involves unauthorised Web linking in various forms. Technology meanwhile provides for the possibility to either incorporate images originating from another source on the Web into the own Web site or to frame content from other providers into the own material published on the Web simply by using hypertext links. These activities, along with more traditional kinds of links, have lead to disputes between content providers on the Internet about linking in general and specific kinds of links in particular. Four celebrated linking disputes, one in the Great Britain and three in the United States, gained interest in the cyber world because of their potential impact on the main feature of the Web, the possibility of linking documents. Thus far, only one court decision was issued in the Scotland, the other lawsuits were either settled or they are still pending. Notwithstanding. this uncertainty in law, similar situations have evolved and the demand for a solution is growing. Commentators around the world have tried to deal with the issue and it appears that in many jurisdictions traditional intellectual property law is difficult to apply to the new technology.
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    Telecommunications law and regulation in Lesotho: a critical analysis
    (2007) Lebone, Likonelo; Hofman, Julien
    In 2000, the Lesotho telecommunications sector underwent a fundamental change in structure, from that of monopoly to one of competition. A new regulatory regime was introduced and a regulatory agency, the Lesotho Telecommunications Authority was established to promote telecommunications development and to safeguard competition.The 2000 legal framework supports competition but fails to adequately minimise the regulatory risk. The new regime also failed to facilitate improved or satisfactory sector performance. The Lesotho regulatory framework addresses most internationally recognised telecommunications regulatory issues, but most areas needs improvement if sector performance and investor perception is to be enhanced. Firstly, the Government must give the regulatory Authority functional independence. Secondly, the Authority must revisit various policy areas. For instance universal access policy and programmes that bring affordable services to the rural and urban populations alike must be developed and implemented; complimentary policies that encourage the use of the services and investment in the sector, like investment, consumer protection and competition policies must be adopted; alternative dispute resolution mechanisms, especially for disputes between the regulator and service providers must be introduced and preferred in the sector. The challenge is to bring telecommunication services to all communities including low-income families and communities in rural and mountainous areas. Thus whatever policies are adopted, universal access and improved sector performance should be a guiding goal which must be pursued rigorously.
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    Telecommunications law and regulation in Lesotho: a critical analysis
    (2007) Lebone, Likonelo; Hofman, Julien
    In 2000, the Lesotho telecommunications sector underwent a fundamental change in structure, from that of monopoly to one of competition. A new regulatory regime was introduced and a regulatory agency, the Lesotho Telecommunications Authority was established to promote telecommunications development and to safeguard competition. The 2000 legal framework supports competition but fails to adequately minimise the regulatory risk. The new regime also failed to facilitate improved or satisfactory sector performance. The Lesotho regulatory framework addresses most internationally recognised telecommunications regulatory issues, but most areas needs improvement if sector performance and investor perception is to be enhanced. Firstly, the Government must give the regulatory Authority functional independence. Secondly, the Authority must revisit various policy areas. For instance universal access policy and programmes that bring affordable services to the rural and urban populations alike must be developed and implemented; complimentary policies that encourage the use of the services and investment in the sector, like investment, consumer protection and competition policies must be adopted; alternative dispute resolution mechanisms, especially for disputes between the regulator and service providers must be introduced and preferred in the sector. The challenge is to bring telecommunication services to all communities including low-income families and communities in rural and mountainous areas. Thus whatever policies are adopted, universal access and improved sector performance should be a guiding goal which must be pursued rigorously.