Cyberspace Law: mCommerce Subcommittee

ABA Section of Business Law
Cyberspace Law: mCommerce Subcommittee
Who We Are The mCommerce subcommittee will focus on mobile commerce, that is, the special legal and business issues arising at the intersection of mobile devices with commerce and the law. We encourage you to join our subcommittee if you are interested in collaborating on the development of presentations, articles, and projects relating to mCommerce transactions, including new technologies and business models, liabilities, regulatory obligations, transactional strategies, and privacy concerns.

Programs, Meetings and Events

Committee Events

Spring Business Law Section Meeting
March 21, 2012 - March 24, 2012

The mCommerce Subcommittee met during the Spring Business Law Section meeting in Las Vegas. As a result of our meeting, we are looking for volunteers for several projects that the subcommittee is pursuing. They are: (1) helping business lawyers advise application developers. This project includes preparing a checklist when negotiating and drafting app contracts and a short document of mobile contract issue spotting, and (2) using mobile devices in the workplace, including bring your own devices, electronic publishing for the mobile market and use of the automobile as a mobile device. We’ve listed three broad categories and divided the tasks for each into individual, bite-sized tasks and are seeking volunteers for them. They are:
•        Checklist/issue spotting documents for what business attorneys should consider when negotiating and drafting app contacts, including:
o        Copyright issues
o        Trademarks
o        Privacy
o        Data sharing/data sets
o        Mobile payments
o        Open source software
o        FTC compliance
•        Use of mobile in workplace:
o        Bring your own devices
o        Electronic publishing
o        Ownership of data
o        Privacy
o        Other restrictions
•        Automobile as a mobile device:
o        What does it mean?
o        Tracking devices
o        Insurance coverage
o        Legal consequences

If you are interested in helping with these projects, email us for further details. Richard C. Balough, rbalough@balough.com or Ted Claypoole, tclaypoole@wcsr.com, co-chairs, mCommerce Subcommittee

Cyberspace Winter Working Meeting
January 19, 2012 - January 21, 2012

The mCommerce subcommittee conducted a roundtable in conjunction with the Cyberspace Law Committee's Institute and Winter Working Meeting in San Francisco, CA. Potential topics for the subcommittee’s workplan were discussed, including:
* Geolocation issues, including the primary tools (GPS, cellular location, wireless positioning and IP location), involuntary tracking, location coupons and other business models, applications using location data, law enforcement and business positions;
* Regulation of mobile technologies, including FCC, FTC, telecom and datastream regulations on the federal, state, and relevant international levels;
* Operational liabilities for businesses relying on m-commerce;
* mCommerce business structures and contracting models and party liabilities, including customer/seller/payment providers;
* Device identification, including UDID usage, manufacturer?s posturing and FTC position (also USIM and other ID capture systems);
* Crimes associated with mCommerce, including link capture, spoofing, fraud, impersonation, and viral infection;
* Jurisdiction, where does commerce take place?
* Secondary consumer charges for mobile transactions, from phone bill to iTunes store to bank fees.

As part of a deep and broad set of discussions on cyberspace legal issues presented at the Winter Working Meeting, the mCommcere subcommittee chairs will also be presenting CLE discussion of the latest attempts of judges and regulators to wrestle with the impact of mobile location tools. From behavioral tracking to Fourth Amendment concerns, legal rule makers fight to understand the technology, its likely future uses, and its impact on the social fabric.
The subcommittee also made a presentation to the workshop concerning privacy and Fourth Amendment issues regarding the use of mobile location tools.