E.
International Domain Registration System: Internic is
the current agency charged with the registration of
domain names
F.
The Internet domain name system (DNS) consists of a
directory of domains. Persons must register a formal
domain name with registered agents. The system permits
enforcement of trademark, consumer protection and other
laws. There is a new agency responsible for accrediting
the registrars of domain names. This is a new non profit
corporation that is assuming responsibility from the
U.S. government, and is called the Internet Corporation
for the Registration of Assigned Names and Numbers ("ICANN").
All ICANN accredited users follow a uniform policy dispute
resolution policy. Pursuant to that policy, disputes
over domain registration are ordinarily resolved by
court litigation between the parties claiming rights
over the domain name the entitlement to the domain name.
In disputes arising from registration illegally or abusively
made such as "cyber-squatting and cyber-piracy", the
uniform policy provides an expedited administrative
procedure to allow the dispute to be resolved with lower
costs and delays than encountered in traditional court
litigation. The process begins with a petition being
filed with one of the dispute resolution service providers.
G.
Model Law on Electronic Commerce of UNICTRAL (United
Nations Commission on International Trade Law): This
is a model law and therefore has no effect in itself
but is used as model for nations to follow in drafting
their own laws. Model laws are considered necessary
in order to assure some uniformity in e-commerce, which,
by its nature, is multi-jurisdictional and international.
Contractual
Disputes on the Net
A.
General
Principles of Contract Formation Apply: In Thailand,
these principles would be embodies in the Thailand Civil
and Commercial Code.
B.
Principle of offer and acceptance on the Internet. Offer
and Acceptance are one of the basic concepts of common
law. Generally, an acceptance must be the "mirror image"
of the offer. Over the Internet, an acceptance is made
on many web site by clicking a button that states agreement.
However, in more extended email negotiation, the offer
and acceptance may have to be inferred over the course
of communication.
C.
Thailand's New Draft Laws: Thailand has new draft laws
concerning e-commerce that will make it easier to form
contracts and enforce contacts over the Internet. These
draft laws are:
(1)
Draft Digital Signature Act: Pursuant to Thailand's
new draft Digital Signature Act, the use of Digital
Signatures using accepted encryption technology will
have the same authority as a person's handwritten signature.
(2)
Draft Electronic Transaction Act: Section12 of this
draft law states that the offer to make a contract and
the acceptance of such an offer may be made in a data
message.
D.
Jurisdictional Issues: Case law from the United States
has repeatedly found grounds for asserting jurisdiction
over persons who are physically located outside of the
jurisdiction based on long arm statutes and a person's
significant electronic contact over the Internet. Representative
cases include the following United States case law:
