India's first Cyberlaw, The Information Technology Bill, 1999 spells out numerous issues for the corporate sector which need to be taken most seriously for making e-commerce a success in India. These issues were outlined in detail by Indian Cyberlaw Expert Mr. Pavan Duggal at a Seminar organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) on Wednesday.

Mr Pavan Duggal, has been specialising in Cyberlaw for the last four years and  , as an advocate in The Supreme Court of India, has been handling various newly emerging Cyberlaw issues and disputes. Mr. Duggal is the President of Cyberlaws.Net and is the Member, Membership Advisory Committee of The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN).

Mr. Duggal warned that corporates have to be very careful while writing emails whether outside the company or within ,as those emails could be made the basis for launching a litigation in a court of law. Secure digital signatures will enable the growth of e-commerce while also providing business opportunities of becoming a Certifying Authority for digital signatures.

At the same time ,Mr Duggal emphasized that the electronic filing of records and the retention of information in electronic format, enabled by the IT Bill, will  help in saving costs, time and manpower for the corporates.  Security issues concerning the corporate sector and definition of Cybercrimes will further enable companies to do successful e-business.

Mr. Duggal also stated  that companies have to beware of the gray areas in the IT Bill, 1999 as the Bill does not touch on Domain Names, Intellectual Property Rights, Payment, Privacy and Banking related issues. The exclusion of  negotiable instruments from the applicability of the IT Bill will have a major bearing on the growth of  e-business in India. Corporates will also have to deal with the bureaucratization of the regulatory processes. How the adjudicating officers will  determine the contravention of the Bill has also  not  been defined.

Further Mr. Duggal also pointed out that the draconian powers given to the Deputy Superintendent of Police,  are likely to result in misuse in the context of Corporate India as   companies have public offices which would come within the ambit of "public place" under the Bill. As a result, companies will not be able to  escape potential harassment at the hands of the DSP.

Those companies involved in the business of providing Internet service (ISPs),  shall  have to exercise caution on the issue of liability for third party data and information as the Indian law, contrary to global Cyberlaw trends,  makes Internet Service Providers ( ISPs), providing  any service as a network service provider, liable for third party data and information made available by them.  The most serious  concern regarding the IT Bill,1999 regarding the corporates, relates to its implementation.

Mr. Duggal, who is one of the pioneers in the field of Cyberlaw, pointed out that the IT Bill,1999 is silent on the issues concerning domain names.  Domain name, the starting point for E-commerce, does not  find any mention in the IT Bill. Also, the Indian Cyberlaw does not mention any aspect relating to the Intellectual Property Rights of e-businesses including copyright, trademark and patent.

He also stated that companies will have to quickly adapt themselves with the changing trends of Cyberlaw, to strengthen their online businesses and alter their business approaches in Cyberspace.