The Impact of the Hague Conference's Proposed Judgments Convention for Electronic Commerce and Intellectual Property Disputes

Since the OECD and other organizations issued model conventions and guidelines on various aspects of electronic commerce, the quest for harmonization and global agreement for electronic commerce laws and procedures has intensified. International private law has become one of the most contentious issues where the legislative development and practical application of electronic commerce is concerned. When an e-commerce contract (a contract concluded by electronic means) is disputed, questions of jurisdiction and choice of law have arisen with increasing frequency. Indeed, questions of jurisdiction and choice of law are even more pertinent when the parties to the contract are domiciled in different jurisdictions. Equally, when one party acquires an intellectual property right in one country and the infringement of this right is alleged in another country, the question of which jurisdiction the holder of the IP right should be entitled to raise proceedings.