The era of Cyber Law aware CxO is now in India.
Cyber Laws are the laws applicable to the Cyber Environment. Today's
business environment is becoming increasingly dependent on Cyber Space. If
an entrepreneur/business manager has to plan his business today, he
has to go through many challenges.
If we closely analyse these challenges, we will
understand how Cyber Law knowledge becomes essential for the business
manager at every stage. Whatever business decision he takes revolves around
e-strategies and therefore a fair sprinkling of Cyber Laws.
Today whenever a business manager takes a decision on
naming a company or a product, he must remember that he would require a
supportive domain name to be used for promotion of the company or the
product. If a manager choses a name and builds a brand around it over a
couple of years of efforts and then finds that it is in conflict with
another established domain name or trademark, he may have to take a fresh
decision on the name or brand. It is therefore necessary to understand that
domain name laws have a great impact on many business decisions.
Chosing a market and the target segments is another
critical decision for the manager. With the global reach that Internet has
achieved today, access to global market is at the fingertip for any
business manager for the purpose of communication of product information.
But understanding the risks of reaching out with a communication to the
global market, what warranties are created on the website, how does
jurisdiction work etc are matters of concern to the business manager.
If the product is a physical product, there is of course
production and distribution to take care of in the physical space. But in
case of a soft product, both production, distribution and servicing can be
done on the Internet. Even the physical manufacturing devices today are
driven by computers and are therefore IT dependent. There can be hacking of
a CNC production line or a Denial of Service Attack on an electronically
controlled production process. The business manager may do well to
understand the legal implications of such incidents.
Procurement of raw materials and machineries can be done
efficiently through Internet which offers access to information, instant
communication and ability to virtually travel to a different country and
negotiate. Do these processes have any legal risks? what kind of rights and
liabilities are created in such processes? are a matter of concern for the
e-Business Manager.
Tapping for human resources start at job sites and
social networking sites. How reliable are these? What protection does the
company enjoy in relying on such information is also a concern of the
e-Executive.
Advertising is a product of communication and reaching a
potential target at the right time at the right place. No medium offers a
better option than Internet to advertise a product or a company. Behind
such a management decision what are the legal risks that are hidden? .. is
a concern of the e-Marketing Manager.
Last but not the least...the financing for the project.
Though money is still in the form of physical currency and digital currency
is still not very much in use for industrial ventures, venture capitalists
abound Internet and at least for the initial scouting, Internet would be an
useful tool. May be in due course Internet would also provide means of
raising money for ventures in the form of digital currency or public issue
to Netizens or User funded products.
In such a business environment, an efficient CEO of
today needs to appreciate the use of Internet for business and along with
it understand the Cyber Laws that drive the e-Business. Same logic applies
to the Chief Marketing mangers, Chief Financial Managers. Need of Cyber
Laws for CTOs or CIOs has already been well documented at naavi.org.
In the current business scenario therefore, any CxO
needs to be fully aware of Cyber Laws and incorporate the compliance
aspects in his decision making.
The era of Cyber Law aware CxO is now in India. Be Aware
and Be Empowered.
Naavi
January 1, 2010
Comments are Welcome at
naavi@vsnl.com
