John W. Dozier, Jr. - Practical Ecommerce

Articles by: John W. Dozier, Jr.

John W. Dozier, Jr.

John W. Dozier, Jr.

Dozier Internet Law PC is a law firm specializing in the law of the Internet. Dozier Internet Law was founded by John W Dozier Jr, Esq., a top peer rated lawyer and former Internet entrepreneur during the bubble days of the 1990s. His businesses included venture backed, award winning e-commerce and online enterprises. He can be reached at jwd@cybertriallawyer.com.

Business
Legal: The Top Ten Risks For Online Businesses

July 30, 2008 • John W. Dozier, Jr.

We are often posed a “simple question” by sophisticated clients. Sometimes it is a simple question with a simple answer. More often than not, though, it is not. Serious web businesses know that if you operate in the “white hat” arena, never take a chance, and never go into the unknown;...
Business
Recovering Damages From Thieves, Crooks and Scofflaws

June 9, 2008 • John W. Dozier, Jr.

It seems not a day passes that Dozier Internet Law is not asked how to pursue someone who is using a replica website to “compete,” is stealing traffic through trademark infringement, is publishing outrageously false information online, or is undertaking sinister, threatening conduct aga...
Business
Legal: Security Regulation Is Coming

April 16, 2008 • John W. Dozier, Jr.

Let's consider the problem first. It wasn't until 1997 that credit cards could be "securely" used online. Obviously the definition of "securely" was rather subjective, but the consuming public was told to trust the new world of ecommerce. Ten years later, data breaches and related ident...
Business
ADA And State Disability Laws

February 27, 2008 • John W. Dozier, Jr.

We are often asked about compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. There is a reasonably strong argument, supported by court decisions, that a stand-alone business operating as a website with no physical presence may not be covered by the ADA. But without prolonged litigation...
Business
Managing Risk When Enforcing Online Rights

December 10, 2007 • John W. Dozier, Jr.

It never ceases to amaze me how much theft is going on right under the eyes of major companies and they don't appear to understand how to spot and deal with it. Of course it takes many forms, often very well disguised, but every business should do its best to keep the thieves away. Web ...
Business
Legal: The Future Of The Law Of The Web

October 15, 2007 • John W. Dozier, Jr.

One of the compelling aspects of Web 2.0 is the leveraging of user generated content (UGC) on a much more integrated and wide-scale basis. The laws dealing with UGC are nothing particularly new. A site that allows informational postings by third parties today already has to deal with ri...
Business
The Law Of Data And Information Security

August 20, 2007 • John W. Dozier, Jr.

I don’t need to recite the many security breaches that have led to major financial losses for companies over the past twelve months. Every business should already know the risks of leaving credit card and account information exposed. Basically, the risk is total loss of your business, a...
Business
The Law Of PPC Advertising

July 9, 2007 • John W. Dozier, Jr.

Many of the legal issues existing today have little, or no, clear legal authority to guide us. This is because many of the abuses are: • Not discovered. • When they are discovered by the advertiser, they are settled confidentially. • When litigated it can take years to get a decision...
Business
Legal: Your Domain Is At Risk

April 23, 2007 • John W. Dozier, Jr.

The lawyers at my firm represent registrars. We also represent domain name owners. And we sometimes represent domain name thieves (yes, everyone is entitled to an attorney). Here is an insider's perspective on the new dynamics at play in domain name cybersquatting. Most domain owners t...
Business
Protecting Your Trademark From Web Thieves

April 2, 2007 • John W. Dozier, Jr.

How valuable is your business or product name? Most small and mid-size businesses aren’t aware of the value of protecting trademarks. When the focus is on making payroll, monitoring sales, providing quality customer service and reaching financial projections, it might not seem like a to...
Business
Beware Of Online Legal Advice

February 7, 2007 • John W. Dozier, Jr.

I get a report every day of many of the important judicial decisions relating to Internet and ecommerce law. I have to review a court’s decision in detail before I begin to understand the ruling, the facts and the law as applied. Judges are oftentimes only as good as the briefs submit...
Business
Copyright Infringement: What If Someone Is Stealing From You?

January 15, 2007 • John W. Dozier, Jr.

As attorneys specializing in the litigation of Internet disputes, not a day goes by that we do not hear about a small online business getting ripped off through the theft of online content. Sometimes the property taken is a website or part of a website. Other times it is certain code or...
Business
Ten Simple Ways to Get Sued

January 2, 2007 • John W. Dozier, Jr.

Want to stay out of trouble? Unless you have been sued before you probably have no idea how expensive, time consuming, and emotionally draining it can be. A little legal preventative maintenance can keep you focused on growing your business uninterrupted. Our firm specializes in litigat...
Business
Managing a High-risk Environment

December 1, 2006 • John W. Dozier, Jr.

We conduct a lot of website audits in which we go through a website, identify the legal issues and assist clients in effectively managing risks. We seem to be litigating these issues across the country regularly, so we have a pretty good view of the landscape. You want to get in trouble...
Business
Protecting Your Domain Name

November 1, 2006 • John W. Dozier, Jr.

Domain names are addresses. But, of course, a domain name generates traffic, which means it is also a major sales source. The traffic could result from those typing in your name in the address bar of the browser, or it could be from search engines grading your website higher because of ...
Business
Getting a Patent is Pricey

October 1, 2006 • John W. Dozier, Jr.

Small businesses are interesting beasts. An entrepreneur comes up with an idea and one of the first thoughts is protecting the new business from competition. Big business often protects novel “inventions” through patent registration. Small businesses quickly find out that obtaining a qu...
Business
Legal: Copyright Registration

September 1, 2006 • John W. Dozier, Jr.

Copyright registration is a great concept. In order to put the world on notice of your ownership of certain creative works, the government allows you to send a copy of your work to the U.S. Copyright Office, and it will maintain the records for you. For a small registration filing cost,...
Business
Trademark Registration

August 1, 2006 • John W. Dozier, Jr.

This article will be the first of three covering trademarks, copyrights and patents. The decision as to whether to register each is based upon unique business considerations. For trademark registration, there is a process to go through in evaluating the cost and benefit of federal regis...
Business
Website User Agreements

July 1, 2006 • John W. Dozier, Jr.

Website user agreements establish the terms under which the relationship between a visitor and a site is governed. A common practice for small websites is to "borrow" language and attempt to customize the terminology to fit their needs. The problem is that drafting a websiteuser agreeme...
Business
Privacy Policies

June 1, 2006 • John W. Dozier, Jr.

Even at the turn of the 17th century, Francis Bacon had it right: knowledge is power. Today, we are in the midst of the information age and, in relation to customer management and relationships, in the beginning stages of an age of invention. The challenges of managing your business inc...
Business
Web Hosting: Hope for the Best, Plan for the Worst

May 1, 2006 • John W. Dozier, Jr.

Last month we discussed web development agreements. Next question: Who is going to host your site? My advice is to know whom you are dealing with, and then make sure that if something goes wrong you have an exit strategy. In other words, do your due diligence. Then hope for the best and...
Business
Web Development Contracts

April 1, 2006 • John W. Dozier, Jr.

We get an interesting mix of client inquiries each week. Sometimes we are asked to draft a “simple” or “basic” contract, neither of which really exist in the online world. We don’t even attempt to do that. Or, in the other extreme, we are asked to review and provide a legal analysis of ...
Business
Affiliate Marketers

March 1, 2006 • John W. Dozier, Jr.

Over half of our law firm’s practice involves affiliate marketing. If we are not setting up an affiliate marketing program, we are involved in claims relating to affiliate misconduct. On the one hand, the riches to be realized by your merchant site through a successful and well managed ...
Business
Your eCommerce Activities Could be Criminal

February 1, 2006 • John W. Dozier, Jr.

The online world is an interesting place today for many reasons. Remember the old western movies when the cowboys came into town for several days of mischief? After weeks on the range, they would often decide on their own what laws to follow with predictable results leading to mayhem an...
Business
Ten Things You Absolutely, Positively Need to Know When You Get Sued

January 1, 2006 • John W. Dozier, Jr.

It’s one of those unanticipated business problems. The cost of dealing with it can be overwhelming. The risk of loss to you and your business is huge. While you are in the middle of managing ecommerce operations, sales, billing, advertising, fulfillment, and the day to day challenges in...
Business
Internet Businesses: Pioneers Still Get Arrows in Their Backs

December 1, 2005 • John W. Dozier, Jr.

When I started my first ecommerce company in February 1994 all of my friends thought I was crazy to leave a successful law practice and pursue my vision of the future…the ability to conduct financial transactions in “cyberspace”. There were less than 1,000 websites online worldwide and ...
Business
Nastygrams: Don’t Let a Legal Letter Ruin Your Day

November 1, 2005 • John W. Dozier, Jr.

It is a beautiful fall day as the early morning sun and fresh breeze cascade through your office window, an open invitation to an afternoon of golf. Then, the morning mail arrives, bringing with it a “cease and desist letter,” and you know upon reading this threat of a lawsuit that your...
Business
The Online Business Cyber-Attack: Defamation

August 1, 2005 • John W. Dozier, Jr.

It is said that the worst lies are told behind your back. That may be true. Until recently, rumors about businesses have generally been oral, fleeting in nature, and (hopefully) not given much credence. Unfortunately, the dynamics of the rumor mill are changing. Just about everything on...
Business
SPAM: Your Affiliates Can Put You Out of Business

July 1, 2005 • John W. Dozier, Jr.

A funny thing happened on the way to enactment of the new federal spam law known as “CAN-SPAM.” While for the first time it established nationwide rules to follow in using commercial email, it actually did much more. Somewhere along the legislative process the ISPs decided they wanted n...