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Essay / Legal Issues Related to Delaware-based Online Company's Defective Widget and Information Theft by Foreign Terrorist Group regarding defective widgetDefamatory blog postsGerman terroristsConclusionSummaryThis article analyzes the legal issues that can be encountered in a scenario in which multiple legal events occur. In the scenario, a customer receives a defective product from your Delaware-based fully online business. They then file a lawsuit against the company, while creating a blog that spreads lies and affects the company's reputation, while invoking their constitutional rights as a defense. Additionally, a foreign terrorist group steals intellectual property owned by the company and attempts to extort money. Each of these questions will be broken down and discussed in the context of the different laws they may fall under.Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned"?Get the original essayLegal Issues Surrounding the 'Widget' ScenarioFor the purposes of this article, we propose a hypothetical scenario focusing on several legal incidents surrounding a product that I created and sold online called the "Widget". The first incident took place 6 months after the start of the widget sales activity based in Delaware and strictly online. A customer in California receives a defective widget and files a lawsuit against me. The same person then starts a blog claiming that my Widget business is a front for the distribution of child pornography, and my income decreases as a result. By attempting to shut down the website, the customer is asserting their First Amendment right to free speech by expressing their opinion. At the same time, there is a second incident in this scenario where German terrorists steal the widget idea and try to extort money from me. They claim they will use it for malicious purposes unless I pay, prompting me to report it to the local police. Given the incidents that occurred in these hypothetical situations, each legal issue and possible avenues of defense or prosecution will be discussed in the following sections. Angry California Customer With the customer receiving a defective widget, there are several separate legal issues that need to be resolved. . One is the fact that they took me to court over a faulty widget, and the other is the defamatory statements they post about my company. The first issue could potentially relate to entering into contracts online as e-commerce, as well as jurisdiction in their lawsuit against my business. The second issue involves potential liability for defamatory statements, as well as First Amendment constitutional issues raised when the person claimed I was trying to violate their rights by attempting to shut down the blog. The first problem will be addressed first. Lawsuit for Defective Widget Since I sold a product to someone online, one could infer that we entered into some form of contract. According to Craig (2013), “website owners may limit their liability and a plaintiff's remedies under the [Uniform Commercial Code] by contract” (p. 81). Therefore, if I have a limited liability statement, I could potentially avoid litigation for the defective widget. This could have been done through a liquidated damages clause or other declaration which could have provided limited remedies andlimit my responsibilities, as Craig explains (p. 81). The other outstanding question concerns jurisdiction, in which Craig explains that subject-matter jurisdiction is the power of a court to hear the case, while personal jurisdiction is the power of the court to actually bring a party to trial ( p.3). Since there is no specific court that hears cases of receipt of defective products, California's personal jurisdiction to bring my business to court is the only relevant jurisdictional issue. The California Long-Arm Statute provides that “a court of this State may exercise jurisdiction on any basis not inconsistent with the Constitution of this State or of the United States” (California Code of Civil Procedure § 410.10). Given this, Craig writes that the defendant (me) must have knowingly conducted his business with a resident of the state, while the claim must also relate directly to that business that was conducted, and it must also be reasonable and fair according to due process. rights of the Constitution (p. 3). Since it appears I would have met these criteria, the angry customer could file a lawsuit against me as a California resident, even though my business is operated out of Delaware. Defamatory Blog Posts The second problem with the Angry Customer from California is the fact that they started a public blog claiming that my Widget business is a front for the distribution of child pornography. According to Craig (2013), the four common elements to prove defamation are “(1) that the defendant made a defamatory communication to a third party, (2) that the statement was false, (3) that the defendant committed a wrongful act by communicating information. declaration, and (4) that the plaintiff suffered harm” (p. 164). While points 2, 3 and 4 are obviously satisfied given the scenario, so is point 1, as Craig writes: "It is well established that posting material on a website satisfies the requirement publication in case of defamation” (p. 164). Even if I can prove that the client made defamatory statements, it is in the client's defense that things can get tricky. The defendant claims that he has the right to assert his opinion on the defamatory statements and claims that I am infringing on his Constitutional Rights. Craig (2013) writes that statements that are not a parody, satire, or protected opinion but contain a fact that can be verified (true or false), the person who made the statement may be held liable (p. 174 ). However, when discussing another case involving defamatory opinions and statements, Rasmussen (2011) states that "allegedly defamatory comments posted on anonymous blogs or in widely distributed email messages like the one the court was considering did not nor the level of credibility that readers would give to similar readers. remarks made in other contexts” (p. 30). It could then be assumed that my business might encounter problems given the context in which the statement is in a non-credible format. If the defendant is found to have made statements deemed defamatory, then he will not be protected by his claimed constitutional rights, since Craig writes that defamatory statements are not protected by the First Amendment (p. 160). The German Terrorists Now that the question is asked, If the angry Californian customer is dismissed, the question of the German terrorist organization can be discussed. Jurisdiction, intellectual property and cybercrime will be the main topics that affect how my company handles the situation. Since the.
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