LL.B.

(Hons) VIth Semester

Cyber Law

UNIT – I

Topics of Unit I
I. Fundamental of cyber law
II. Understanding the cyberspace
III. UNCITRAL model law on E-commerce
Topic 1-Fundamentals of cyber law

The cyber law is also known as internet law the term cyber has not been defined under information
technology Act, 2000 (IT Act).In simple words cyber law is a genetic term which refers to all legal and
regulatory aspect of internet and World Wide Web.

In other words cyber law is the law which governs activities that are done on the cyber space i.e. virtual
space.

According to technopedia “cyber law is the area of law that deals with the internet relationship to
technological and electronic elements including computers software hardware and information system”.

Need for cyber law;

1. To regulate cyber crime.

2. To supervise and control transaction and behavior regulating to the internet and world wide.
3. To help and protect people and organization in the virtual world from malicious people like
hackers etc.
4. To protect and maintain the security is online transaction
5. Cyber law is needed as raises specific issue of intellectual property law contract law, privacy
freedom of expression and cyber jurisdiction.

Jurisprudence of cyber law

Cyber jurisprudence is the study of laws which directly related to cyber crime. Moreover cyber
jurisprudence also describes the principles of legal issue which exclusively regulates cyber space and
internet.
The evolution of cyber law can be traced from UNICITRAL model law on electronic commerce this
mode law has been significantly considered in many nations where cyber law has been legislated.

The subject of cyber law is techno legal subject and hence the standard of technology is also a very
vital aspect that determines the legal provisions in order to obtain a balanced and convenient regulatory
system.

Scope of cyber law

 Now days scope of cyber law is increasing day by day it deals with legal issues relating to cyber space
 It contains comprehensive provisions for prevention prohibitions regulation and control of activities
which are done is cyber space.
 Further cyber law covers various aspects of cyber world within its ambit. It deals with cyber security
prevention and regulation of cyber crime.
 Cyber space, jurisdiction, intellectual property issues and constitutional and human rights issues is cyber
space.

Importance of cyber law

The cyber law is important because it touches almost all aspects of transactions and activities that are
connected with the internet World Wide Web and cyber space.

Every action and its reaction in the cyberspace have some legal and cyber legal angles. now a day
people are increasingly using internet and world wide web .Moreover most of transaction are being
done on the cyber space like e- commerce , e-governance , e- contract , e- banking , e-filing, e-business
etc.

Thus it is the duty of state that technology should not be abused it ought to be used for legal purpose
only and not for committing crimes therefore cyber law has become a necessity today.

Sources of cyber law in India

The primary source of cyber law in India is IT Act 2000 which came into force on 17th of October
2000.The object of the act is to provide legal recognition to e-commerce and to facilitate filling of e-
records with government further this act also penalizes various cyber crimes and provide strict
punishment to put effective deterrence on such illegal activities is cyber space.

In conclusion the increasing use of technology and reach of attackers is the very room of the users has
made their life more vulnerable hence cyber law has now become inevitable.
 Topic 2-Understanding cyber space

Cyber space is a dynamic and virtual world which is created by internet and World Wide Web. In short,
cyber space is a hypothetical environmental created by the internet moreover unlike the physical world
the cyber space has no boundaries

According to “new oxford dictionary” cyber space is national environmental is which people
communicate over computer network.

The Home Computers

The first personal computer, the ‘Altair’ was made in the year 1975. At that use, it was mainly the
electronics hobbyists who bought computers.

In 1977, two American students, Steven P. Jobs and Stephen G. Wozniak, founded the Apple Computer
Company in the United States. The Apple Il personal computer was introduced subsequently. The
Apple II was much cheaper than the mainframes. As a result, computers became more affordable.
Small-time businesses started computerization using the personal computers. Millions of individuals,
families, schools and other establishments also started buying computers.

In 1981, IBM entered the personal computer market with its PC. It used an operating system licensed
from Microsoft, which was based in Redmond, Washington, USA. The operating system was named
DOS (Disk Operating System). It used a command-line interface (the user can communicate with the
computer by typing commands on the monitor screen). The flexibility and adaptability of DOS made it
the most successful PC operating system, by the mid-eighties. Another successful operating system
from the early 1980's was UNIX. Developed by the US Company Bell Laboratories, it also used a
command-line interface but allowed multitasking (several users doing different things on the same
system at the same time). Like DOS, UNIX was also flexible and became particularly popular with
network computers of large business houses and universities. UNIX had many inbuilt security
measures.

An easy-to-use computer, Apple Macintosh, with a Graphical User Interface (GUI) was introduced by
Apple Computer in 1984. In a GUI, the user is presented with a menu of choices with pictures (icons)
arranged in boxes (windows) representing programs and applications. The user can use a mouse to
select an icon and can start a program by clicking the mouse. GUI's were made possible because
computers in the 1980's and 1990's became, faster and more powerful. In the late 1990's, RISC
(Reduced Instruction Set Computing) technology increased computer speed and capacity. RISC
computers use microprocessors that work at high speed because they carry the circuitry for performing
fewer operations than those of other computers.

In 1986, Microsoft launched its rival GUI, Windows, to run on IBM PC's and similar machines.
Windows outsold Apple's Macintosh system and, in 1995, Microsoft launched an advanced version of
its GUI, Windows 95. The terms ‘Windows’, ‘Icons’, ‘Menus’, and ‘Pointers’ — the essential elements
of the GUI — abbreviate to 'WIMPS'. Windows 98 the latest from the Microsoft stables, has been
launched in 1998.

The Internet

The computer's ability to share data with other computers over a network linked through telephone has
led to a major telecommunication revolution. A computer network is a network consisting of a central
computer (server) and & number of remote stations, say 20-30, that report to it. Networking has led to
the concept of Cyberspace. ‘Cybernetics’ according to Chamber's Dictionary is the comparative study
of automatic communication and control in functions of living bodies and in mechanical electronic
systems (such as computers).

The control functions take place in the brain in the human body, and the word ‘Cyber’ has evolved to
denote a virtual space or memory. Cyber is analogous to human memory, that is to say, it denotes the
medium in which certain activities take place, the way thoughts work in human memory. Here
activities take place in the back end of a computer and the results are displayed in the monitor. The
activities taking place/data stored in computers cannot be felt by any of the human senses. That is to
say, such activities/data are not in a ‘hard form’ (as in the case of paper documents). Hence, we call the
data/documents stored in the electronic form as ‘soft copies’, which could be retrieved at any point of
time and visualized in the monitor.

Cyberspace

This term was never known to the world till 1984. The word first appeared in the print media through
William Gibson's novel ‘Necromancer’, which was published in 1984. The word describes the ‘online’
world of computers and the constituents of society that use these computers. Online broadly indicates a
computer connected to another; a computer as part of a network linked through a modem. .

(a) History and Evolution

The history of the Internet dates back to the 1960's. The Advanced Research Projects Agency, (ARPA)
of the United States Department of Defense developed a network of computers called ARPA NET.
This network connected only military and Government computer systems. Its purpose was to make
these systems secure in the event of a disaster or war. Soon after the creation of ARPA NET,
universities and other institutions developed their own computes Networks. In due course of time, these
networks were eventually merged with ARPA NET to form the Internet. By the early 90's, an one with
a computer, modem, and Internet software was able to link up the entire world over. These include
universities and colleges, big corporate networks. Governmental networks and a host of other publicly
accessible networks. Thus, it connects millions of computers around the world and no one knows the
exact number. Now it has blossomed into an international system for sending and receiving electronic
mail, software, electronic documents and pictures the world over. The Internet has drastically reduced
the cost of long-distance communications.

A decade ago, data and text were transmitted at a speed of two pages per, second. Now, the internet is
having a bandwidth in the range of few Gigabits per second. The new network will transmit data and
text at a speed of 12 Gigabits by the end of 2000 and in the order of trillion bits by 2010. You may find
it hard to imagine that, at that speed, the new network would transmit data and text a speed of two
small public libraries per second.

(b) The ‘Net’ of Today

Electronic data consists of text (alphabets), graphic (images), voice (phonograms) and programs (software),
Earlier, many of these were transmitted in a Compartmentalized manner, and Technology has enabled
transmission of all these types of data at a composite multimedia transmission. Now, documents containing
multimedia information (digital documents) can be transmitted from one end of the globe to the other, without
any time Iag. This compound document can be filed electronically, retrieved, altered and communicated as and
whea required, thereby overcoming the distance factor and acga g the geographical barriers. Unlike the hard
copies in paper, the digital informatory is animated and totally communicative with audio outputs Thus the
present day data transmission is far superior in terms of speed, quality, visuals, utility, impact and convenience.

When we access an Internet document, using a Web Browser, we can see a number of links to other
documents apart from a mixture of texts and graphics. When we click on a link, the related document
will open up automatically respective of the location of the said document in the Internet. Such links
are called hyper links (see HTML in the Glossary) The growth of Information Technology, has more
than catered to the ever burgeoning needs of generation, transmission, storage, retrieval, manipulation
and reproduction of Information. The evolution takes the cyber world towards object computing (see
OLE in the Glossary). An object is a user selected group of data such as a block of text, a set of
spreadsheet cells, a chart, sounds or a graphical image. Object computing enables this data to be
embedded in or linked to another document created in a different environment/application

Difference between physical world and cyber world.

 Cyber space / world is dynamic where as physical world is static.

 The boundaries are cyber is undefined and not fixed but in physical world the boundaries are well
defined and fixed.
 Cyber space is created by human being whereas the physical world is made by the god.
 Cyber space is depended upon the physical world for example hardware, software, cables, and routers
are found in physical space. On the other hand the physical world done not depends upon the cyber
space therefore it is independent from cyber space.
 Topic 3-UNICITRAL model law on electronic commerce

Origin

The Model Law, adopted in 1996, is intended to cite the use of modem means of communication and storage of
information, such as electronic data interchange (EDI), electronic mail and telecopy, with or without the use of
such support as the Internet. It is based on the establishment of a functional equivalent for paper based concepts
such as "writing", “signature” and “original”.

Key provisions

How does the Model Law treat electronic transactions?

The key principle underlying the Model Law is the concept of "electronic equivalence,” found in Article Five.
Although the Model Law does not deem electronic communications valid (just as with paper documents, legal
validity depends upon more than a document's form), it provides that information or documents will not be
denied legal effect or enforceability solely because are in electronic format.

How does the Model Law achieve electronic equivalence?

A series of functional equivalency rules specify what conditions must be met _for an electronic
communication to constitute a legally effective substitute for a conventional, paper-based
communication. For example, Article Six provides that a legal requirement to provide information or a
document sent "in writing" Ts Satisfied by its electronic equivalent if it is in a form that can be
subsequently accessed and used by the recipient.

Article Eight states that electronic documents will satisfy a legal requirement for “original” documents
if there is a reliable assurance as to the integrity of the information and that the information is capable
of being displayed to the person to whom it is to be presented. The question of whether an assurance is
reliable is to be determined in the light of all” the circumstances, including the purpose for which the
document was created.

How is the integrity of the information determined?

Article Eight also addresses this issue. It provides that the criteria for assessing integrity shall be
whether the information has remained complete and unaltered, a-art from the addition o any
endorsement and any change at arises in the normal course of communication, storage and display
Does the Model Law address the admissibility and evidential weight of electronic
communication?

Yes. Article Nine creates an electronic equivalence standard for evidentiary purposes as it provides that
evidentiary miles shall not deny the admissibility of an electronic communication solely on the grounds
that it is in electronic form.

What conditions does the Model Law set for data retention?

Article Ten addresses the issue of data retention. It provides that data retention requirements are met
where the information contained with. The electronic message is accessible so as to be usable for
subsequent reference, message itself is retained in the format in which it was generated and any
information indicating origin, destination, date and time of the message is retained.
 UNIT II

Topics of Unit II
I. IT Act 2000
II. E-commerce, E-governance, E-contract, E-banking and E-tendering
III. Digital and e-signature, Controller, Subscribers, Certifying Authorities,
Computer Emergency Response Team
IV. Cyber Authorities

Topic 1-Information Technology Act, 2000

History of cyber law-

IT Act 2000 is motivated by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law
(UNCITRAL) model law on electronic commerce (e-commerce), adopted in 1996 which provides
for recognition to electronic records and according it the same treatment like a paper
communication and record, to bring uniformity in the law in different countries by the United
Nations.

The Department of Electronics (DoE) drafted the first bill in 1998 as the E Commerce Act, 1998. It
was redrafted as the „Information Technology Bill, 1999‟, and The Information Technology Act,
2000, was thus passed as the Act No.21 of 2000, got President assent on 9 June and was made
effective from 17 October 2000. The act was substantially amended in 2008.

Objectives of the Act

The objectives of the Act are as follows:

ii. Legal Recognition of Electronic Documents- Grant legal recognition to all transactions
done via electronic exchange of data or other electronic means of communication or e-
commerce, in place of the earlier paper-based method of communication.
iii. Legal Recognition of Digital Signatures- Give legal recognition to digital signatures for the
authentication of any information or matters requiring legal authentication
 iv. Facilitate the electronic filing of documents with Government agencies and also
departments

v. Facilitate the electronic storage of data.

vi. Give legal sanction and also facilitate the electronic transfer of funds between banks and
financial institutions

vii. Grant legal recognition to bankers under the Evidence Act, 1891 and the Reserve Bank of
India Act, 1934, for keeping the books of accounts in electronic form.
viii. Amendment of the Indian Penal Code 1860, the Indian Evidence Act 1872, the Bankers‟
Books Evidence Act 1891, and the Reserve Bank of India Act 1934.
ix. Justice Dispensation Systems for cyber crimes, other Offenses and Contraventions

Features of the Information Technology Act, 2000

a. All electronic contracts made through secure electronic channels are legally valid.

b. Legal recognition for digital signatures.

c. Provides for Security measures for electronic records and also digital signatures

d. A procedure for the appointment of Controller or Adjudicating Officer for holding inquiries
under the Act is finalized

e. Provision for establishing a Cyber Appellant Tribunal to handle all appeals made against the
order of the Adjudicating Officer. An appeal against the order of the Cyber Appellant Tribunal
is possible only in the High Court

f. Provision for the appointment of the Controller of Certifying Authorities (CCA) to license and
regulate the working of Certifying Authorities. The Controller to act as a repository of all digital
signatures.

g. Provisions for the constitution of a Cyber Regulations Advisory Committee to advise the
Central Government and Controller.
h. The Act applies to offences or contraventions committed outside India

i. Senior police officers and other officers can enter any public place and search and arrest
without warrant
Applicability and Non-Applicability of the Act

Applicability

i. According to Section 1 (2), the Act extends to the entire country, which also includes Jammu
and Kashmir.

ii. Further, it does not take citizenship into account and provides extra-territorial jurisdiction.
Section 1 (2) along with Section 75, specifies that the Act is applicable to any offence or
contravention committed outside India as well.

iii. If the conduct of person constituting the offence involves a computer or a computerized
system or network located in India, then irrespective of his/her nationality, the person is
punishable under the Act.

Non-Applicability

The Act is not applicable to the following documents:

1. Execution of Negotiable Instrument under Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, except

cheques.

2. Execution of a Power of Attorney under the Powers of Attorney Act, 1882.

3. Creation of Trust under the Indian Trust Act, 1882.

4. Execution of a Will under the Indian Succession Act, 1925 including any other testamentary
disposition by whatever name called.
5. Entering into a contract for the sale of conveyance of immovable property or any interest in
such property.

6. Any such class of documents or transactions as may be notified by the CentralGovernment

in the Gazette.

Topic 2-E governance-

E-governance is the public sector's use of information and communication technologies in order
to enhance information and service delivery, motivating inhabitant involvement in the decision-
making process and making government more accountable, transparent and effective. E-
governance involves new styles of management, novel ways to decide policy and investment,
new ways of accessing education, and listening to citizens and new ways of organizing and
delivering information and services. Blake Harris summarizes the e-governance as the following;
E-governance is not just about government web site and e-mail. It is not just about service
delivery over the Internet. It is not just about digital access to government information or
electronic payments. It will change how citizens relate to governments as much as it changes
how citizens relate to each other. It will bring forth new concepts of citizenship, both in terms of
needs and responsibilities. E-governance will allow citizens to communicate with government,
participate in the governments' policy-making and citizens to communicate each other. The e-
governance will truly allow citizens to participate in the government decision-making process,
reflect their true needs and welfare by utilizing e-government as a tool.
The purpose of E- governance is to give better access, accountability and efficiency in the
delivery of government information and services. E-Governance has capability to provide all
government information and services on internet to the public and private sector. An e-
governance initiatives and innovations will ensure a more democratic, transparent and
accountable framework for the public and private apparatus to operate in. The governments of
developing countries must establish a suitable environment for e-governance. E-governance is
the method of service delivery and information dissemination to citizens using electronic means
providing many benefits over the conventional system
The aim of e-governance is to make the interaction of the citizens with the government offices
(G to P) easy to share information with transparency and reliability.
The strategic objective of e-governance is to support and simplify governance for all parties -
government, citizens and businesses. The use of ICTs can connect all three parties and support
processes and activities. In other words, in e-governance uses electronic means to support and
stimulate good governance. Therefore the objectives of e-governance are similar to the
objectives of good governance.
There are many obstacles to execute E-governance policies.
These include insufficiency of funds, infrastructural problems, scarce manpower, citizen
enthusiasm, data accumulation, legal framework readiness, and maintenance.
People's resistance to any change. It is important to design such employee-oriented Human
Resource strategies as would allow the organization to prepare employees for change and also
support them to absorb rather than adsorb the changed systems.
There are also cultural obstacles which refer to values, beliefs, mind-set, practices and customs
of people.
Companies adopting e governance must develop customer orientation which understand the
requirements of the user, explore new ways of presenting information to meet customer needs;
design feedback mechanisms; manage customer relationships; streamline processes; develop
good communication process, organize information, work more flexibly; make better decisions,
coordinate activities, focus on major issues in the context of personnel which include doing job
 analysis again to redefine job responsibilities and other job dimensions of various jobs affected
by the change.

How E-governance is different from E-Government?

The terms "e-Government" and "e-Governance" are currently in widespread use, sometimes
interchangeably. But these two terms are different and it is important to understand the distinction
between the two E-Governance is a broader concept that deals with the whole spectrum of the
relationship and networks within the government regarding the usage and application of ICT. Apart
from the services provided in e-form, when the government starts interacting with other government
departments, business houses or people in e-form, it becomes two ways traffic in e-form is known as e-
governance.

How E-governance is different from governance?

"E-governance is not merely computerizing existing government. It is transforming the existing

government." In the new networked society, governments must re-engineer themselves and shift from
passive information giving mechanisms to have active citizen involvement systems and must facilitate
much faster, cheaper, convenient, transparent and dynamic interaction between government and citizen.
Some times it is also called integrated-Governance (i-Governance) as it integrates people, processes,
information, and technology in the service of achieving the governance objectives.

Advantages of E-governance

It has the following advantages:

1. Cheaper governance because it cuts financial and time costs.

2. Quicker governance, by producing the same output at the same total cost in less time.

3. Close monitoring of govt. processes or performance.

4 More accountability of public servants for their decisions and actions.

5. Improves government efficiency and productivity.

Topic 3-E- commerce-

E-Commerce or Electronics Commerce is a methodology of modern business, which addresses

the need of business organizations, vendors and customers to reduce cost and improve the quality
of goods and services while increasing the speed of delivery. E-commerce means buying and
selling of products or services over electronic systems such as the internet and other computer
networks. Electronic commerce draws on technologies such as mobile commerce, electronic
funds transfer, supply chain management, Internet marketing, online transaction processing,
Electronic Data Interchange (EDI), inventory management systems, and automated data
collection systems.
E-commerce refers to the paperless exchange of business information using the following ways:
 Electronic Data Exchange (EDI)
 Electronic Mail (e-mail)
 Electronic Bulletin Boards
 Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT)
 Other Network-based technologies

E-Commerce provides the following features:

 Non-Cash Payment: E-Commerce enables the use of credit cards, debit cards, smart
cards, electronic fund transfer via bank's website, and other modes of electronics
payment.
 24x7 Service availability: E-commerce automates the business of enterprises and the
way they provide services to their customers. It is available anytime, anywhere.
 Advertising/Marketing: E-commerce increases the reach of advertising of products and
services of businesses. It helps in better marketing management of products/services.
 Improved Sales: Using e-commerce, orders for the products can be generated anytime,
anywhere without any human intervention. It gives a big boost to existing sales volumes.
 Support: E-commerce provides various ways to provide pre-sales and post-sales
assistance to provide better services to customers.
 Inventory Management: E-commerce automates inventory management. Reports get
generated instantly when required. Product inventory management becomes very efficient
and easy to maintain.
 Communication improvement: E-commerce provides ways for faster, efficient, reliable
communication with customers and partners.
 E-commerce business models can generally be categorized into the following categories-

 Business - to - Business (B2B)

 Business - to - Consumer (B2C)
 Consumer - to - Consumer (C2C)
 Consumer - to - Business (C2B)
 Business - to - Government (B2G)
 Government - to - Business (G2B)
 Government - to - Citizen (G2C)

Main Goals of E-Commerce:

It helps in achieving the following goals-

(i) Reach new markets.

(ii) Create new products or services.

(in) Build customer loyalty.

(iv) Enrich human capital.

(v) Make the best use of existing and emerging technologies.

(vi) Achieve market leadership and competitive advantage.

Main Reasons for the Spread of E-commerce:

(i) Digital convergence, i.e., it means that due to the digital revolution almost all digital devices can
communicate with one another.

(ii) Today's e-commerce is available to anyone, anywhere in the world, anytime 24/7 (24 hours a day, 7
days a week).

(ii) It helps in bringing about positive changes in an organization.

(iv) People are now having widespread access to IT and Personal Computers (PCs).

(v) E-commerce helps in reducing operating costs and increasing profit margins due to global
operations.

(vi) The demand for customized products and services is increasing.

Advantages of E-commerce

E-commerce has several advantages:

Businesses without the barriers of time or distance: E-commerce plays a very important role in
allowing people to carry out businesses without the barriers of time or distance. One can log on to the
Internet at any time, whether day or night, and purchase or sell anything at his desires.

Lower cost-of-sale: As there is no human interaction (wholesaler, retailer, etc.) during the on-line
electronic purchase order process, therefore, the direct cost-of-sale for an order is taken from a web site
is lower than through traditional means. Further, electronic selling also eliminates processing errors and
is also more convenient for the visitor.

Cheapest means of doing business: Another important benefit of E-commerce is that as compared to
paper-based commerce it is the cheapest means of doing business.

Advantages to the buyer: From the buyer's perspective also E-commerce offers a lot of advantages.

(a) Reduction in buyer's sorting out time,

(b) Better buyer decisions;

Disadvantages of E-commerce

Following are the main disadvantages of E-commerce:

Few people are using E-commerce: Internet is not used by many people for e-commerce either due to
technology phobia or due to the lack of knowledge or the Internet has still not touched their lives. A
large number of people do not use the Internet for any kind of financial transaction as they simply
refuse to trust the authenticity of completely impersonal business transactions or do not want to
disclose personal and private information for security reasons. Further, many times, the legitimacy and
authenticity of different E-commerce sites have also been questioned. Therefore, only a few people are
using e-commerce.

Unable to personally examine the product: Buying products through the Internet does not allow
physical examination of products. Only images of the products may be available for viewing, but there
is a risk involved in the uncertainty of the quality of the product that the consumer is purchasing.

Special hardware and software: There are specific hardware and software that are essential to start an
E-commerce company, which are bulky and costly. Therefore, small business entities cannot start e-
commerce.

Maintenance of website: Business houses that have started e-commerce must maintain and update
their website regularly which leads to extra labour costs.

Training and maintenance: It is important to have well skilled and trained workers to create and
maintain the E-commerce facilities of a company.

Security: An E-commerce business exposes itself to security risks and may be susceptible to
destruction and disclosure of confidential data, data transfer and transaction risk or virus attack.

Topic 4- E- Contracts

E-contract is one of the divisions of e-business. It holds a similar meaning of traditional business
wherein goods and services are switched for a particular amount of consideration with the only
difference that the contract here takes place through a digital mode of communication like the
internet. It provides an opportunity for the sellers to reach the end of consumer directly without the
involvement of the middlemen. Electronic contracts (contracts that are not paper based but rather in
electronic practise) are born out of the need for speed, suitability and efficiency.

The Indian Contract Act, 1872 rules the way in which contracts are made and completed in India. It
rules the way in which the requirements in a contract are implemented and codifies the effect of a
breach of contractual provisions.

Within the outline of the Act, parties are free to contract on any terms they choose. Indian Contract
Act comprehends of limiting factors subject to which contract may be entered into, executed and
breach enforced. It only provides an outline of rules and regulations which govern creation and
performance of contract. The rights and duties of parties and terms of agreement are definite by the
contracting parties themselves. The court of law acts to enforce agreement, in case of default.

Essentials of an electronic contract:

As in every other contract, an electronic contract also requires the following necessary requirements:

1. An offer requirements to be made

In many contacts (whether online or conventional) the offer is not made directly one-on-one. The
consumer „browses‟ the available goods and services showed on the seller‟s website and then
chooses what he would like to purchase. The offer is not made by website showing the items for
sale at a particular price. This is essentially an invitation to offer and hence is revocable at any
time up to the time of acceptance. The offer is made by the customer on introduction the products
in the virtual „basket‟ or „shopping cart‟ for payment.

2. The offer needs to be acknowledged

As stated earlier, the acceptance is usually assumed by the business after the offer has been made
by the consumer in relation with the invitation to offer. An offer is revocable at any time until the
acceptance is made.

3. There has to be legal consideration

Any contract to be enforceable by law must have legal consideration, i.e., when both parties give
and receive something in return. Therefore, if an auction site eases a contract between two parties
where one Ecommerce – Legal Issues such as a person provides a pornographic movie as
consideration for purchasing an mp3 player, then such a contract is void.

4. There has to be an intention to create lawful relations

If there is no intention on the part of the parties to create lawful relationships, then no contract is
possible between them. Usually, agreements of a domestic or social nature are not contracts and
therefore are not enforceable, e.g., a website providing general health related data and
instructions.

5. The parties must be able to contract.

Contracts by minors, lunatics etc. are void. All the parties to the contract must be lawfully
competent to enter into the contract.

6. There must be free and unaffected consent

Consent is said to be free when there is absence of coercion, misrepresentation, undue influence
or fraud. In other words, there must not be any agitation of the will of any party to the contract to
enter such contract. Usually, in online contracts, especially when there is no active real-time
communication between the contracting parties, e.g., between a website and the customer who
buys through such a site, the click through process ensures free and genuine consent.

7. The object of the contract need to be lawful

A valid contract presumes a lawful object. Thus a contract for selling narcotic drugs or
pornography online is void.

8. There must be conviction and possibility of performance

A contract, to be enforceable, must not be ambiguous or unclear and there must be possibility of
performance. A contract, which is impossible to perform, cannot be enforced, e.g., where a
website promises to sell land on the moon.

Processes available for forming electronic contracts include:

I. E-mail: Offers and acceptances can be exchanged entirely by e-mail, or can be collective with
paper documents, faxes, telephonic discussions etc.

II. Web Site Forms: The seller can offer goods or services (e.g. air tickets, software etc.) through
his website. The customer places an order by completing and communicating the order form
provided on the website. The goods may be actually delivered later (e.g. in case of clothes, music
CDs etc.) or be directly delivered electronically (e.g. e-tickets, software, mp3 etc.).

III. Online Agreements: Users may need to take an online agreement in order to be able to avail
of the services e.g. clicking on “I accept” while connecting software or clicking on “I agree”
while signing up for an email account.
Several laws acting in unification are trying to regulate the business transactions of E-contract.
They are as follows:

 Indian Contract Act,1872

 Consumer Protection Act,1986
 Information Technology Act,2000
 Indian Copyright Act,1957
 The Information Technology (Intermediaries Guidelines) Rules 2011 to regulate the
intermediaries such as verification service providers and shipping service providers to
safeguard that the product or service is actually delivered.
 were brought into the legal framework after proclamation of (PSS Act, 2007).
 The Payment and settlement Systems Act, 2007, 2007 as well as the Payment and
Settlement System Regulations, 2008 made under the Act came into effect from August
12, 2008 to regulate bring the payment gateways which provide a very important position
as the primary processor of the payment for the merchants Further, the Reserve Bank of
India, issued additional guidelines initiating all such gateways and payments processors
to register under the said act.
 The authority of the transactions of E-contract is established under the Information
Technology Act, 2000 (IT Act, 2000). It explains the reasonable mode of acceptance of
the offer. IT Act, 2000 also rules the revocation of offer and acceptance.
However, definite provisions that regulate E-contract transactions conducted over the internet,
mobile phones, etc. are vague. With numerous cross border transactions also being conducted
over the internet, specific law guarding the Indian customers and Indian businesses are essential
and Indian laws are gravely insufficient on this issue.

Example of E commerce/ E- contract

Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Limited (IRCTC) is certainly the major e-
commerce site in India and in India’s answer to private capitalist ventures.

IRCTC was set up as a subsidiary of the Indian railways for the exclusive purpose of providing
catering services and ticketing services for the Indian Railways.
However, of late, it has extended its wing and now covers sectors such as flights and hotel
bookings. The flagship was established in 2002 and has transformed the online travel booking
business in India. IRCTC functions both in the business to business and business to consumer
segment. The site offers the only link for purchasing Indian railway tickets online and even agent
sites (B2B) have to link them to IRCTC to provide online booking services for customers.
IRCTC offers a large option for consumers for payment of buying tickets online. IRCTC
however, is one of the few enduring e-commerce sites which charged transactions charges from
customers, which is different bank to bank.

Through IRCTS several customer enter daily into a new dimension of contract i.e. E-contract. E-
Contract now plays an important role both for the customer and the seller. Customer has a lot of
choice to choose a product and seller through e-contract reach to large customers.

Topic 5- E- banking-

E-banking is an electronic consumer interface and an alternative channel of distribution for

banking services and products. E-banking is a process through which banking consumers manage
their banking transaction without even visiting a bank branch.

The importance of e-banking is growing day by day as it maximizes the advantage for banks and
its clients. Even been a costly and risky affair, bank and financial institutions largely investing in
latest information system. Other way round e-banking provides economies to the operations as it
enables banks to reduce their branch network and number of banking staff.

Electronic banking can be defined as the use of electronic delivery channels for banking products
and services, and is a subset of electronic finance (1). The most important electronic delivery
channels are the Internet, wireless communication networks, automatic teller machines (ATMs),
and telephone banking. Internet banking is a subset of e-banking that is primarily carried out by
means of the Internet. The term transactional e- banking is also used to distinguish the use of
banking services from the mere provision of information.
 Topic 6- E- Tendering

E- Tendering refers to purchasing or hiring services or obtaining goods through E-platform. Under
e-tendering goods or services are purchased/hired via web portal. The tenders are floated on website
showing requirement of services of the specified quality, tentative price is also shown and bids are
invited online and opened at a specific date & time. On the basis of bids received the evaluation of
L-1 (lowest) is done. On the basis of lowest evaluated bidder the order is placed. In this manner the
goods or services can be hired at most competitive prices, in a fair, just and transparent manner. In
this way e-tendering is transparent, convenient with least time and cost overruns. On the other hand
tendering of goods, services or goods without using E-platform or e-publishing is manual
procurement. In E- tendering, for uploading or floating of tenders Digital Certificate is required

Advantages of E tendering-

E- tendering is paper less, electronic system of uploading/downloading of documents whereas

manual tendering requires dealing with paper & also cumbersome.

Under e- tendering the tenders are published on web site, documents can be downloaded & can be
accessed anytime anywhere whereas in manual tendering it has to be advertised in newspaper &
documents required to be collected manually.

E- tendering requires less time, easy & convenient whereas manual tendering is cumbersome and
requires lots of time in evaluation of L-1 (lowest evaluated bidder.)

E- tendering is latest technology effectively being adopted gradually by all states whereas manual
tendering is primitive way of advertising tenders.

E- tendering is transparent, competitive & fair method way of procuring goods, services or works
whereas manual tendering is time consuming, cumbersome, requires handling of large volume of
papers.
 Topic 7- Digital Signature

Digital Signature Certificates (DSC) are the digital equivalent (that is electronic format) of
physical or paper certificates. A digital certificate can be presented electronically to prove the
identity of individual, to access information or services on the internet or to sign certain
documents digitally.

In order to be called legally binding all electronic communications or transactions must meet foll
fundamental requirements-

1- Authenticity of the sender, in order to enable the receiver to determine who sent
the message.
2- Message‟s integrity- the recipient must be able to determine whether or not the
message has been modified en route or is incomplete
3- Non repudiation- the ability to ensure that the sender cannot deny sending the
message or its contents.
Such high level of security is ensured by data encryption technique- cryptography. Cryptography
is of 2 types- Symmetric Cryptography (Private Key cryptographic system) and Asymmetric
Cryptography (Private key cryptographic system). DS are based on Asymmetric Cryptography. It
is a block of data at the end of the electronic message that attests to the authenticity of the
message. It requires –

1- Key pair- Private Key for encryption and public key for decryption.
2- A hash function (an algorithm which creates a digital representation or fingerprint in
form of hash value which is unique. Any change to the message invariably produces a
different hash result. Thus it provides clear evidentiary connection to the original
message content by ensuring that there has been no modification of message after being
digitally signed.
Sec 2 (1) (p) of IT Act (p) ―digital signature‖ means authentication of any electronic record by a
subscriber by means of an electronic method or procedure in accordance with the provisions of
section 3;
Before going into details about provisions relating to digital signature, here it is important
to understand the basic of concept relating to digital signature. A Digital signature
(standard electronic signature) takes the concept of traditional paper-based signing and
turns it into an electronic "fingerprint. The fingerprint or coded message, is unique to both
the document and the signer and binds both of them together. The digital signature ensures
the authenticity of the signer. Any changes made to the document after it is signed
invalidate the signature, thereby protecting against signature forgery and information
tampering. Digital signatures help organizations sustain signer authenticity, accountability,
data integrity and non-repudiation of electronic documents and forms,

A digital signature is issued by a Certification Authority (CA) and is signed with the CA's
private key A digital signature/electronic signature typically contains the: Owner's public
key, the Owner's name. Expiration date of the public key, the Name of the issuer (the CA
that issued the Digital ID), Serial number of the digital signature, and the digital signature
of the issuer. Digital signatures deploy the Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) technology.

Provisions relating to Digital Signature

As per section 3 of Information Technology Act, 2000 as amended, any subscriber may
authenticate an electronic record by affixing his digital signatures. The authentication of
the electronic records shall be effected by the use of asymmetric crypto system and hash
function which envelops and transform the electronic records into another electronic
record.

Here one explanation has been added to Section 3 and as per the explanation provided,
"hash function" means an algorithm mapping or translation of one sequence of bits into
another, generally smaller, set known as "hash result such that an electronic record yields
the same hash result every time the algorithm is executed with the same electronic record
as its input making it computationally infeasible-

(a) To derive or reconstruct the original electronic record from the hash result produced by
the algorithm

b) That two electronic records can produce the same hash result using the algorithm.

Any person by the use of a public key of the subscriber can verify the electronic record or
the person signing the document.
 Electronic Signatures

It is a generic term that refers to all the various methods by which one can sign an
electronic record. An Electronic Signature is generated electronically and can be used to
make sure of the veracity and legitimacy of data and ensure message authentication. It
provides the ability to

• Verify the author, date and time of signature

• Be used by third parties for verification and resolution of disputes

Sec 3 read with Sec 2 (1) (ta) of the IT Act state that, electronic signature means
authentication of any electronic record by a subscriber by means of a reliable electronic
technique specified in the Second Schedule and includes digital signature.

3A. Electronic signature.—(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in section 3, but

subject to the provisions of sub-section (2), a subscriber may authenticate any electronic
record by such electronic signature or electronic authentication technique which—
(a) is considered reliable; and
(b) may be specified in the Second Schedule.

(2) For the purposes of this section any electronic signature or electronic authentication
technique shall be considered reliable if—
(a) the signature creation data or the authentication data are, within the context in which
they are used, linked to the signatory or, as the case may be, the authenticator and to no
other person;
(b) the signature creation data or the authentication data were, at the time of signing, under
the control of the signatory or, as the case may be, the authenticator and of no other
person;
(c) any alteration to the electronic signature made after affixing such signature is
detectable;
(d) any alteration to the information made after its authentication by electronic signature is
detectable; and
 (e) it fulfils such other conditions which may be prescribed.
(3) The Central Government may prescribe the procedure for the purpose of ascertaining
whether electronic signature is that of the person by whom it is purported to have been
affixed or authenticated.
(4) The Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, add to or omit
any electronic signature or electronic authentication technique and the procedure for
affixing such signature from the Second Schedule:
Provided that no electronic signature or authentication technique shall be specified in the
Second Schedule unless such signature or technique is reliable.

Section 5 Legal recognition of electronic signatures.—Where any law provides that

information or any other matter shall be authenticated by affixing the signature or any
document shall be signed or bear the signature of any person, then, notwithstanding
anything contained in such law, such requirement shall be deemed to have been satisfied,
if such information or matter is authenticated by means of electronic signature affixed in
such manner as may be prescribed by the Central Government. Explanation.–For the
purposes of this section, ―signed‖, with its grammatical variations and cognate
expressions, shall, with reference to a person, mean affixing of his hand written signature
or any mark on any document and the expression ―signature‖ shall be construed
accordingly.

Technologically speaking there is no difference between electronic signature and digital

signature. Both perform the same set of functions i.e.- signer‟s authentication, message
integrity and non-repudiation. Examples of electronic signature may include, a name typed at
the end of the mail by the sender, digitized image of a hand written signature, biometric
signature, passwords, PIN, scanned signatures etc.

The concept of electronic signature was introduced by 2008 amendment act to ensure
“technological neutrality‟. Under 2000 IT Act, it would have been mandatory for the subscriber
to subscribe to digital signature based on an appropriate technology standard an if the subscriber
obtains a Digital Signature based on other technology, it would not be considered lawful.

However, with the introduction of technological neutrality, subscriber would have the choice
to adopt use any other mode in form of Electronic Signature as well.

Topic 8- Controller, deputy controller, assistant controller-

According to Sec 17 of the IT Act the Central government is empowered to appoint a

Controller of Certifying authorities.

The organizational structure of Controller of Certifying authorities is as follows-

 Minister of Electronics and IT

 Minister of State (E & IT)
 Secretary
 Controller of Certifying Authority
 Deputy controller
 Assistant Controller
 Technical Officer

Functions of Controller—
Since 2000, the office of Controller of Certifying authorities has 3 broad functions-

1- Technology
2- Finance
and

3- Investigati
on
(Each department has a Deputy controller and an Assistant Controller). According to IT Act,
2000, section 18, the controller has following functions-

(a) exercising supervision over the activities of the Certifying Authorities;

(b) certifying public keys of the Certifying Authorities;
 (c) laying down the standards to be maintained by the Certifying Authorities;
(d) specifying the qualifications and experience which employees of the Certifying
Authorityshould possess;
(e) specifying the conditions subject to which the Certifying Authorities shall
conduct theirbusiness;
(f) specifying the contents of written, printed or visual materials and advertisements
that maybe distributed or used in respect of a electronic signature Certificate and the
public key;

(g) specifying the form and content of a electronic signature Certificate and the key;
(h) specifying the form and manner in which accounts shall be maintained by the
Certifying Authorities;
(i) specifying the terms and conditions subject to which auditors may be appointed
and theremuneration to be paid to them;
(j) facilitating the establishment of any electronic system by a Certifying
Authority eithersolely or jointly with other Certifying Authorities and regulation of
such systems;
(k) specifying the manner in which the Certifying Authorities shall conduct their
dealings withthe subscribers;
(l) resolving any conflict of interests between the Certifying Authorities and the
subscribers;(m)laying down the duties of the Certifying Authorities;
(n) maintaining a data base containing the disclosure record of every Certifying
Authority containing such particulars as may be specified by regulations, which
shall be accessible to public.

Section 28 of the Act provides that, the Controller or any officer authorized by him shall
have power to investigate contraventions as laid down in the provisions of this Act. The
CCA also maintains the Repository of Digital Certificates, which contains all the
certificates issued to the Certifying Authorities in the country.
 Certifying authority-

Certifying Authority means a person who has been granted a licence to issue a electronic
signature Certificate under section 24. The IT Act 2000 gives details of who can act as a CA.
Accordingly a prospective CA has to establish the required infrastructure, get it audited by the
auditors appointed by the office of Controller of Certifying Authorities, and only based on
complete compliance of the requirements, a license to operate as a Certifying Authority can be
obtained. The license is issued by the Controller of Certifying Authority, Ministry of
InformationTechnology.

The Controller of Certifying Authorities (CCA) has established the Root Certifying Authority
(RCAI) of India under section 18(b) of the IT Act to digitally sign the public keys of
Certifying

Authorities (CA) in the country. The RCAI is operated as per the standards laid down under
the Act.

Cyber Appellate tribunal-

Cyber Appellate Tribunal has been established under the Information Technology Act under
the aegis of Controller of Certifying Authorities (C.C.A.).

According to Sec 2 (1)(da) ―Appellate Tribunal- means the Appellate Tribunal referred to in
sub- section (1) of section 48. The first and the only Cyber Appellate Tribunal in the country
has been established by the Central Government in accordance with the provisions contained
under Section 48(1) of the Information Technology Act, 2000.

Constitution of Cyber Appellate tribunal–

A Cyber Appellate Tribunal shall consist of one person only (the Presiding Officer of the
Cyber Appellate Tribunal) to be appointed, by notification, by the Central Government.

 A person shall not be qualified for appointment as the Presiding Officer of a

CyberAppellate Tribunal unless he-
(a) is, or has been, or is qualified to be, a Judge of a High Court; or;
 (b) is or has been a member of the Indian Legal Service and is holding or has held a
post inGrade I of that Service for at least three years.
 Staff of the Cyber Appellate Tribunal:
(1) The Central Government shall provide the Cyber Appellate Tribunal with such
officer and employees as that Government may think fit.
(2) The officers and employees of the Cyber Appellate Tribunal shall discharge
their functions under general superintendence of the Presiding Officer.

The salaries, allowances and other conditions of service of the officers and employees
of theCyber Appellate Tribunal shall be such as may be prescribed by the Central
Government.

Jurisdiction of Cyber Appellate tribunal

Appeal to Cyber Appellate Tribunal:

 Any person aggrieved by an order made by Controller or an adjudicating officer

under this Act may prefer an appeal to a Cyber Appellate Tribunal jurisdiction in
the matter.
 No appeal shall lie to the Cyber Appellate Tribunal from an order made by an
adjudicating officer with the consent of the parties.
 Every appeal shall be filed within a period of forty-five days from the date on
which a copy of the order made by the Controller or the adjudicating officer is
received by the person aggrieved and it shall be in such form as prescribed.
 Right to legal representation- The appellant may either appear in person or
authorise one or more legal practitioners or any of its officers to present his or its
case before the Cyber Appellate Tribunal.
 Civil court not to have jurisdiction - No court shall have jurisdictions to entertain
any suit or proceeding in respect of any matter which an adjudicating officer
appointed under this Act or the Cyber Appellate Tribunal constituted under this
Act is empowered by or under this Act to determine and no injunction shall be
granted by any court or other authority in respect of any action taken or to be taken
in pursuance of any power conferred by or under this Act.
Appeal to High Court:
 Any person aggrieved by any decision or order of the Cyber Appellate Tribunal
may file an appeal to the High Court within sixty days from the date of
communication of the decision or order of the Cyber Appellate Tribunal to him on
any question of fact or law arising out of such order.
 The High Court may, if it is satisfied that the appellant was prevented by sufficient
cause from filing the appeal within the said period, allow it to be filed within a
further period not exceeding sixty days.

Procedure & Power

 The Cyber Appellate Tribunal is not bound by the procedure laid down by the
Code of Civil Procedure, 1908.
 But, it shall have, for the purposes of discharging its functions under this Act, the
same powers as are vested in a civil court under the Code of Civil Procedure,
1908, while trying a suit, in respect of the following matters, i.e. : -
(a) summoning and enforcing the attendance of any person and examining
him on oath;
(b) requiring the discovery and production of documents or other electronic
records;
(c) receiving evidence on affidavits;
(d) issuing commissions for the examination of witnesses of documents;
(e) reviewing its decisions;
(f) dismissing an application for default or deciding it ex parte;
(g) any other matter which may be prescribed.
 It shall be guided by the principles of natural justice and, subject to the other
provisionsof this Act and of any rules.
 The Tribunal shall also have powers to regulate its own procedure including the
place at which it shall have its sitting.
 Every proceeding before the Cyber Appellate Tribunal shall be deemed to be a
judicial proceeding within the meaning of sections 193 and 228, and for the
purpose of section 196 of the Indian Penal Code and the Cyber Appellate Tribunal
 shall be deemed to be a civil court for the purposes of section 195 and Chapter
XXVI of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.

Subscriber-

As defined under Sec 2 (1)(zg) subscriber means a person in whose name the electronic
signature Certificate is issued.

Duties of Subscriber (Sections 40-41) include-

 Generating the key pair (the public and the private key) in case of digital certificate.
 Retaining control of the private key corresponding to the public key listed in his
Digital Signature Certificate with reasonable care, ensuring it is not disclosed.
 If the private key corresponding to the public key listed in the Digital Signature
Certificate has been compromised, then, the subscriber shall communicate the
same without any delay to the Certifying Authority in such manner as may be
specified by the regulations.
 The subscriber is required to accept the digital signature by authorizing the
publication ofsame to one or more persons or in a repository in any other manner.

Intermediary-

Sec 2 (w) defines as any person who on behalf of another person receives, stores or
transmits any electronic record or provides any service with respect to that record and
includes telecom service providers, network service providers, internet service providers,
web-hosting service providers, search engines, online payment sites, online-auction sites,
online-market places and cyber cafes.

Computer Emergency Response Team

ICERT is a national nodal agency for responding to computer security incidents and has been
empowered so under Sec 70B of IT Act.

It is the only authority for issue of instructions in the context of blocking websites. CERT-IN,
after verifying the authenticity of the complaint and after satisfying that action of blocking of
the website is absolutely essential, instructs Department of Telecommunication (DoT)-
Latest Release (LR Cell) to block the website. DoT, under whose control the Internet Service
Providers (ISPs) are functioning will ensure the blocking of websites and inform CERT-IN
accordingly.

Functions of CERT-

1- Collection, analysis, dissemination of information on cyber incidents.

2- Forecast and alerts of cyber security incidents
3- Coordination of cyber response activities
Issue guidelines, whitepapers etc relating to information security practices, procedures,
prevention, response, rep
 Unit III

Topics of Unit III

I. Cyber hacking, Cyber terrorism, Cyber stalking and Child
pornography
II. Unauthorized access, Data and Identity Theft
III. Breach of privacy, Protected Systems, Obscenity and transmission of
sexual message,

Cyber Crimes

Crime is an act or omission, which is prohibited by the law particularly criminal. Cyber-
Crime is the latest and perhaps the most specialized and dynamic field in cyber-laws. “Cyber
crimes can be plainly define as “ Crimes directed at a computer or computer system” But the
complex nature of cyber crimes cannot be sufficiently expressed in such simple and limited
term”1.The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
recommended the working definition of cyber crime “computer related crime is considered
as any illegal, unethical or unauthorized behavior relating to the automatic processing and
the transmission of data.”2In 2001, The Council of Europe Convention31 defines
cybercrime in Articles 2-10 in four different categories:

1) offences against the confidentiality, integrity and availability of computer data and
systems;
2) computer- related offences;
3) content related offence;
4) offences related to infringements of copyright and related rights.

One of the greatest lacunae of this field is the absence of a set of comprehensive law
anywhere in the world. Further the growth ratio of internet and cyber- law is not
proportional Too. The era of nuclear warfare conceived the idea of a system which could
 even survive the devastation of nuclear weapons. "A post-apocalypse command grid" was
the original idea for Internet -'Bruce Sterling' has stated. The idea of 'internet' was conceived
in the early 60's while a code for its regulation was mooted in late 90's. This clearly brings
about the reason for the complication of cyber-crime.

Cyber offences fall under the Indian Penal Code.

(i) Sending threatening messages by email Section 503 IPC

(ii) Sending defamatory messages by email Section 499 IPC
(iii) Forgery of electronic records Section 463 IPC
(iv) Bogus websites, cyber frauds Section 420 IPC
(v) Email spoofing Section 463 IPC
(vi) Web-jacking Section 383 IPC
(vii) E-Mail Abuse Section 500 IPC

Chapter XI of this Act deals with offences/crimes along with certain other provisions
scattered in this Acts .The various offences which are provided under this chapter are -
Tampering with Computer source documents
S.65; Hacking with Computer
systemsS.67; Access to protected
system S.70; Misrepresentation
S.71; Breach of Confidentiality and
PrivacyS.72; Fraud
S.74; Further Chapter IX u/p of S.43 restricts the damage to
Computer,computer system, etc.
Commission of Cyber-Crime may be broadly divided against three basic groups –

1. Individual
a). person&
b). property of an individual

2. Organization
a. Government
b. Firm, Company, Group of Individuals.
 1. Society at large
The following are the crimes, which can be committed against the followings group
Against Individuals -

i. Harassment via e-mails.

ii. Cyber-stalking.
iii. Dissemination of obscene material.
iv. Defamation.
v. Hacking/cracking.
vi. Indecent exposure.

Individual Property: -
i. Computer vandalism.
ii. Transmitting virus.
iii. Netrespass.
iv. Unauthorized control over computer system.
v. Hacking /cracking.
Against Organization: -
i. Hacking & Cracking.
ii. Possession of unauthorized information.
iii. Cyber terrorism against the government organization.
iv. Distribution of pirated software etc.

Against Society at large.

i. Pornography (basically child pornography).
ii. Polluting the youth through indecent exposure.
iii. Trafficking.
 Topic-1-Cyber crime and cyber terrorism

What is cyber terrorism? According to Section 66F

Any person who

(a) with intent to threaten the unity, integrity, security, or sovereignty of India or to strike terror
in the people or any section of the people:

(i) denies or cause the denial of access to any person authorized to access computer resource; or

(ii) attempts to penetrate or access a computer resource without authorization or by exceeding

authorized access, or

(iii) introduces or causes to introduce any computer contaminant, and by means of such conduct
causes or is likely to cause;

 death or injuries to persons; or

 damage to or destruction of property, or
 damage or disruption of supplies or services essential to the life of the community, or
 adversely affect the critical information infrastructure specified under Section 70, or

(b) knowingly or intentionally penetrates or accesses a computer resource without authorization

or by exceeding authorized access, and by means of such conduct obtains access to:

information, data or computer database where access is restricted, for reasons for the security of
the State or foreign relations, or

any restricted information, data, or computer database, with reasons to believe that such
information, data, or computer database so obtained may be used to cause or likely to cause:

 injury to the interests of the sovereignty and integrity of India,

 injury to the security of the State,
 injury to the friendly relations with foreign States,
 injury to the public order, decency or morality, or
 in relation to contempt of court, defamation or incitement to an offence, or
 to the advantage of any foreign nation, group of individuals, or otherwise,

commits the offence of cyber terrorism.

Punishment for cyber terrorism Section 66F (2): Whoever commits or conspires to commit
cyber terrorism must be punished with imprisonment which may extend to imprisonment for life,
It is significant to note that a very wide meaning and definition of cyber terrorism has been given
under the Information Technology Act, 2000 which is divided into two parts. Each part involves:

1. mens rea

2. act has done

3. consequences produced or likely to be produced.

Therefore, any act done with mens rea of securing access to secret information person or
property, etc., amounts to cyber terrorism. and such as death, injury to Further, it is considered to
be a serious offence where punishment can extend up life imprisonment, and even conspiracy to
commit cyber terrorism is made

Example 1: Mr. A unauthorizedly accesses any computer resource of Railway Company or Plane
Company and gives direction resulting in mismanagement of routes of rail or plane and causes
injury to people who commit cyber terrorism.

Example 2: Mr. A unauthorisedly accesses computer resources of the Defence Ministry and
gives direction to do an illegal act resulting in injury to people.

Topic 2-Cyber Stalking

Cyber stalking is when somebody stalks or harasses another person by sending obscene content,
threatening, monitoring their activities or trying to communicate without consent by misusing the
internet or electronic media. The stalker can stalk by email, messaging apps (WhatsApp,
Telegram, Message) or other electronic media.
In India, to deal with cyber stalking, the following laws are available:
1. Information technology act 2000.
2. Indian Penal Code 1860
Cyber stalking in the Information Technology Act, 2000
In simple words, cyber stalking means following persons movement across the internet. In other
words cyber stalking is a virtual or electronic form of physical stalking. Stalking generally
involves harassing or threatening behavior that an individual engages in repeatedly unwelcome
contact with another individual.
Unsolicited email is one of the most common forms of harassment, including hate, obscene or
threatening email. Other forms of harassment include sending the viruses or high volumes of
electronic Junk mail. In most cases of online stalking, offenders use an internet protocol (IP)
address & anonymous ‘re-mailers’.
Cyber Stalker can communicate directly with their target as soon as the target computer connects
in any way to the internet.
Sec. 72 Penalty for Breach of confidentiality and privacy.–Save as otherwise provided in this
Act or any other law for the time being in force, if any person who, in pursuance of any of the
powers conferred under this Act, rules or regulations made there under, has secured access to any
electronic record, book, register, correspondence, information, document or other material
without the consent of the person concerned discloses such electronic record, book, register,
correspondence, information, document or other material to any other person shall be punished
with imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine which may extend to
one lakh rupees, or with both.

Sec. 67 Punishment for publishing or transmitting obscene material in electronic form.–

Whoever publishes or transmits or causes to be published or transmitted in the electronic form,
any material which is obscene shall be punished on first conviction with imprisonment of either
description for a term which may extend to three years and with fine which may extend to five
lakh rupees and in the event of second or subsequent conviction with imprisonment of either
description for a term which may extend to five years and also with fine which may extend to ten
lakh rupees.

Sec. 66A Punishment for sending offensive messages through communication service, etc.–
Any person who sends, by means of a computer resource or a communication device,–
(a) any information that is grossly offensive or has menacing character; or
(b) any information which he knows to be false, but for the purpose of causing annoyance,
inconvenience, danger, obstruction, insult, injury, criminal intimidation, enmity, hatred or ill
will,
persistently by making use of such computer resource or a communication device;
(c) any electronic mail or electronic mail message for the purpose of causing annoyance or
inconvenience or to deceive or to mislead the addressee or recipient about the origin of such
messages, shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years and
with fine.

However recently in Shreya Singhal V Union of India (2015), the supreme court of India struck
down section 66-A of Information technology Act 2000 for being unconstitutional as it violated
Article 19 (1) (a) of Indian constitution.
A brief history of Section 66A
Manish Kathuria Vs Ritu Kohli
First reported case of cyber-stalking in India and reason for the 2008 amendment to the IT Act.
Manish followed Kohli on a chat website, abused her by using obscene language and then
disseminated her telephone No. to various people. As soon as complaint was made, Delhi police
traced the IP address and arrested the Manish under section 509 of IPC. After this case s. 66-A of
IT Act 2000 was inserted in 2008 by legislature.

Kinds of Cyber Stalking:

There are three kinds of cyber stalking.
1. Email Stalking: sending hate, obscene, or threatening emails, or sending viruses and
spam
 Only considered to be stalking if this is done in repletion manner.
 Eerily similar to physical stalking which would include sending hate mail through the
postal service

2. Internet Stalking: spreading rumors or tracking victims on the web

 Spreading rumors takes on a public form of harassment versus a private approach.
 The aim of spreading rumors would be to slander the victim.
 Tracking victims can be done in without the victim ever knowing they are being watched.

3. Computer Stalking: hacking into a victims computer and taking control of it

 This takes a high level of computer knowledge but instructions can be found online.
 The invader is able to control the actions of the victim’s computer whenever that
computer is connected to the internet.
Cyber stalking vs. offline stalking
I. Cyber stalking is online threat and there is no direct relationship between the victim and
cyber stalker. Offline stalking is direct physical threat to the victim and there is some
relationship between the victim and the stalker.
II. Cyber stalking is universal. If a Russian or a Canadian can stalk an Indian women or
men. Offline stalking is particular.
III. No prior clear identity about the cyber stalker. Clear identification about the offline
stalker.
IV. Enforcement of law is easier in offline stalking. Cyber stalking sometimes requires
extradition.

Cyber stalking Indian Penal Code 1860

Sec. 354D Stalking.—(1) Any man who—

(i) follows a woman and contacts, or attempts to contact such woman to foster personal
interaction repeatedly despite a clear indication of disinterest by such woman; or

(ii) monitors the use by a woman of the internet, email or any other form of electronic
communication, commits the offence of stalking:

Provided that such conduct shall not amount to stalking if the man who pursued it proves that—

(i) it was pursued for the purpose of preventing or detecting crime and the man accused of
stalking had been entrusted with the responsibility of prevention and detection of crime by the
State; or

(ii) it was pursued under any law or to comply with any condition or requirement imposed by
any person under any law; or

(iii) in the particular circumstances such conduct was reasonable and justified.

2. Whoever commits the offence of stalking shall be punished on first conviction with
imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three years, and shall
also be liable to fine; and be punished on a second or subsequent conviction, with
imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to five years, and shall also
be liable to fine.
 Topic 3-"Breach of Privacy"

A privacy breach occurs when someone accesses information contained in computer, or computer
network without permission of the authorized person. Privacy is not only human right but also
fundamental right under Article 21 of the Constitution of India.

Privacy is necessary condition for freedom of expression, thought and association. Another inherent
aspect of an individual's privacy is human dignity which refers to a person’s sense of self worth.

Cyber crimes that compromises privacy

The collection, storage and use of personal data is largely regulated by the Information Technology Act
2000 under section 43-A of this Act, a body corporate who is possessing, dealing or handling any
sensitive personal data or information, and is negligent in implementing and maintaining reasonable
security practices resulting is wrongful gain to any person, then such body corporate may be held liable to
pay damages to the person so affected.

Sec. 66E Punishment for violation of privacy.–Whoever, intentionally or knowingly captures,

publishes or transmits the image of a private area of any person without his or her consent, under
circumstances violating the privacy of that person, shall be punished with imprisonment which
may extend to three years or with fine not exceeding two lakh rupees, or with both.

Explanation.–For the purposes of this section–

(a) ―transmit‖ means to electronically send a visual image with the intent that it be viewed by a
person or persons;

(b) ―capture‖, with respect to an image, means to videotape, photograph, film or record by any
means;

(c) ―private area‖ means the naked or undergarment clad genitals, public area, buttocks or
female breast:

(d) ―publishes‖ means reproduction in the printed or electronic form and making it available for
public;

Sec. 72 Penalty for Breach of confidentiality and privacy.–Save as otherwise provided in this
Act or any other law for the time being in force, if any person who, in pursuance of any of the
powers conferred under this Act, rules or regulations made there under, has secured access to any
electronic record, book, register, correspondence, information, document or other material
without the consent of the person concerned discloses such electronic record, book, register,
correspondence, information, document or other material to any other person shall be punished
with imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine which may extend to
one lakh rupees, or with both.

Grounds on which government can interfere with data

Under section 69 of this Act, any person authorized by the government or any of its officer
specially authorized by the government if satisfied that it is necessary or expedient so to do in the
interest of
• sovereignty a integrity of India,
• defense of India,
• security of the state,
• friendly relation will foreign states,
• public order or
• for preventing incitement to the commission of any cognizable offence relating to above
• for investigation of any offence,
for reason to be recorded in writing by order, can direct any agency of Government to intercept,
monitor or decrypt any information, generated, transmitted received or stored in any computer
resource.

Topic 4- Obscenity and Transmission of sexual message

Cyber offences relating to obscenity

Three sections, section 67,67A & 67B are related to obscenity:

Publishing of information that is obscene in electronic form (Section 67]

Any person who publishes or transmits or causes to be published in the electronic form, any
material which is lascivious or appeals to the prurient interest or if its effect is such as to tend to
deprave and corrupt persons who are likely, having regard to all relevant circumstances, to read,
see or hear the matter contained or embodied in it, must be punished on
the first conviction with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three
years and with fine which may extend to five lakh rupees; and

the second or subsequent conviction with imprisonment of either description for a term which
may extend to five years and also with a fine which may extend to ten lakh rupees.

in Kamlesh Vaswani v UOI writ petition was filed before the SC under Articleof the
Constitution of India in public interest challenging Sections 66, 67.69.71.3. 75, 79, 80, and 85 of
the Information Technology Act 2000 as unconstitutional as they are inefficient in tackling the
rampant availability of pomographic material in India .

Accordingly, the Apex Court directed Secretary, DoT directed to file a personal affidavit within
one week on the issue as to whether DoT or any other department of Government of India is
competent to issue a direction to R-4 to call off sites showing pornography.

What is obscene?

It is important to note that the term obscene as such was not there under Indian Law. However,
Indian courts have followed the meaning of this term as given in an English casd R v Hicklin,
where the Queen's bench laid down the following test of obscenity any matter which tends to
deprave or corrupt those whose mind is open to such Immoral influences and into whose hand
publication of this sort may fall".

Subsequently, this test of obscenity was introduced in Section 292 of IPC, 1860

Publishing or transmitting in the electronic form any material which contains sexually
explicit Act, etc. Section 67A,

As per this section any person who publishes or transmits or causes to be published or
transmitted in the electronic form, any material which contains sexually explicit act or conduct;

must be punished on

 the first conviction with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend
to five years and with fine which may extend to ten lakh rupees;
 the second or subsequent conviction with imprisonment of either description for a term
which may extend to seven years and also with a fine which may extend to ten lakh
rupees.

Publishing or transmitting in the electronic form any material which depicts children
engaged in the sexually explicit act, etc. Section 67B-

Any person who;

(a) publishes or transmits or causes to be published or transmitted material in any electronic form
which depicts children engaged in a sexually explicit act or conduct; or

(h) creates text or digital images, collects, seeks, browses, downloads, advertises, promotes,
exchanges, or distributes material in any electronic form depicting children in obscene or
indecent or sexually explicit manner, or

(c) cultivates, entices, or induces children to online relationship with one or more children for
and on a sexually explicit act or in a manner that may offend a reasonable adult on the computer
resource; or

(d) facilitates abusing children online, or

(e) records in any electronic form own abuse or that of others pertaining to sexually explicit act
with children,

shall be punished on first conviction with imprisonment of either description for a term which
may extend to five years and with fine which may extend to ten lakh rupees and in the event of
second or subsequent conviction with imprisonment of either description for a term which may
extend to seven years and also with fine which may extend to ten lakh rupees:

In India, there are not many cases under this Section but there are few cases of US Courts. In
U.S v Joseph C. Bledsoe', the defendant was convicted and sentenced by the United States
District Court for the District of South Carolina, at Columbia, for knowingly publishing a notice
over the Internet offering to exchange child pornography, in violation of the law. He filed an
appeal in 2006 before the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit which affirmed
the Convention and sentence.
 Unit IV

Topics of Unit IV
I. Cyber disputes; Jurisdiction and Legal Issues
II. Cyber Adjudication, Collection and Admissibility of E- evidences
III. Intellectual Property rights and Its interface with Cyber law
IV. Copy right and cyber law, Trademark law and cyberspace

Topic 1-Cyber adjudication, collection & admissibility of electronic evidence

The definition of 'evidence' has been amended to include electronic records (Section 3(a) of the
Evidence Act). Evidence can be in oral or documentary form. The definition of 'documentary
evidence' has been amended to include all documents, including electronic records produced for
inspection by the court. The term 'electronic records' has been given the same meaning as that
assigned to it under the IT Act, which provides for "data, record or data generated, image or
sound stored, received or sent in an electronic form or microfilm or computer-generated micro
fiche".

New Sections 65A and 65B were introduced to the Evidence Act under the Second Schedule to
the IT Act, 2000.

Section 65A provides that the contents of electronic records may be proved in accordance with
the provisions of Section 65B. Section 65B provides that notwithstanding anything contained in
the Evidence Act, any information contained in an electronic record (ie, the contents of a
document or communication printed on paper that has been stored, recorded and copied in
optical or magnetic media produced by a computer ('computer output')), is deemed to be a
document and

is admissible in evidence without further proof of the original's production, provided that the
conditions set out in Section 65B(2) to (5) are satisfied.
Conditions for the admissibility of electronic evidence
Before a computer output is admissible in evidence, the following conditions as set out
inSection 65(B)(2) must be fulfilled:
(a) the computer output containing the information was produced by the computer during the
period over which the computer was used regularly to store or process information for the
purposes of any activities regularly carried on over that period by the person having lawful
control over the use of the computer;
(b) during the said period, information of the kind contained in the electronic record or of the
kind from which the information so contained is derived was regularly fed into the
computerin the ordinary course of the said activities;

(c) throughout the material part of the said period the computer was operating properly or, if
not, then in respect of any period in which it was not operating properly or was out of
operation during that part of the period, was not such as to affect the electronic record or
the accuracy of its contents; and
(d) the information contained in the electronic record reproduces or is derived from such
information fed into the computer in the ordinary course of the said activities.

Section 65B(4) further provides that in order to satisfy the conditions set out above, a certificate
of authenticity signed by a person occupying a responsible official position is required. Such
certificate will be evidence of any matter stated in the certificate.
The certificate must:
identify the electronic record containing the statement;
describe the manner in which it was produced; and
give such particulars of any device involved In the production of the electronic record
as may be appropriate for the purpose of showing that the electronic record was
produced bya computer.
The certificate must also deal with any of the matters to which the conditions for admissibility
relate.

Amitabh Bagchi v. Ena Bagchi (AIR 2005 Cal 11)

Sec 65A & 65B were analyzed in the case. It was held to be inclusive of includes video
 conferencing.
Physical presence of a person in Court may not be required for purpose of adducing
evidence and the same can be done through medium like video conferencing.

State of Maharashtra v. Dr. Praful B. Desai (AIR 2003 SC 2053)

It was held that, examination of witness through video conferencing is allowed and is regarded
asan essential part of electronic evidence.
Jagjit Singh v. State of Haryana (2006) 11 SCC 1

Issue in the present matter was regarding the appreciation of digital evidence in the form of
interview transcripts from television channels. It was held that the electronic evidence placed on
record was admissible and upheld the reliance placed by the speaker on the recorded interview
when reaching the conclusion that the voices recorded on the CD were of the persons taking
action.

Presumptions Regarding Electronic Evidence

A fact which is relevant and admissible need not be construed as a proven fact. The judge must
appreciate the fact in order to conclude that it is a proven fact. The exception to this general rule
is the existence of certain facts specified in the Evidence Act that can be presumed by the court.
The Evidence Act has been amended to introduce various presumptions regarding digital
evidence.

Gazettes in electronic form

Under the provisions of Section 8lA of the Evidence Act, the court presumes the genuineness of
electronic records purporting to be from the Official Gazette or any legally governed electronic
record, provided that the electronic record is kept substantially in the form required by law and
isproduced from proper custody.

Electronic agreements
Section 84A of the Evidence Act provides for the presumption that a contract has been
concluded where the parties' digital signatures are affixed to an electronic record that purports
to be an agreement.

Secure electronic records and digital signatures

Section 85B of the Evidence Act provides that where a security procedure has been applied to
anelectronic record at a specific time, the record is deemed to be a secure electronic record from
such time until the time of verification. Unless the contrary is proved, the court is to presume
that a secure electronic record has not been altered since obtaining secure status. The provisions
relating to a secure digital signature are set out in Section 15 of the IT Act. A secure
digital Signature is a digital signature which, by application of a security procedure agreed by
the partiesat the time that it was affixed, is:
 unique to the subscriber affixing it;
 capable of identifying such subscriber; and
 created by a means under the exclusive control of the subscriber and linked to the
electronic record to which it relates in such a manner that if the electronic record as
altered, the digital signature would be invalidated.
It is presumed that by affixing a secure digital signature the subscriber intends to sign or
approve the electronic record. In respect of digital signature certificates (Section 8Se of the
Evidence Act), it is presumed that the information listed in the certificate is correct, with the
exception of information specified as subscriber information that was not verified when the
subscriber accepted the certificate.

Five-year old electronic records

The provisions of Section 90A of the Evidence Act make it clear that where an electronic
record is produced from custody which the court considers to be proper and purports to be or is
proved to be five years old, it may be presumed that the digital signature affixed to the
document was affixed by the signatory or a person authorized on behalf of the signatory. An
electronic record can be said to be in proper custody if it is in its natural place and under the
care of the person under whom it would naturally be. At the same time, custody is not
considered improper if the record is proved to have had a legitimate origin or the circumstances
of the particular case are such as to render the origin probable. The same rule also applies to
evidence presented in the form of an electronic copy of the Official Gazette.

Topic 2- Intellectual Property Rights and Cyber Law

Interface of IPR and Cyber law-

What is Intellectual Property?

WHAT IS INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY?

Property under the law is of two types, Corporeal and incorporeal. Corporeal property is the right
of ownership in material things, such as land, chattel, et Incorporeal property is other proprietary
rights in rem. Incorporeal property is itself of two kinds, viz., (1) Jura in repropria, i.e.,
proprietary rights over immaterial things, e.g., patents, copyrights and trademarks, and (2) Jura in
re aliena (encumbrances whether over material or immaterial things, e.g., leases, mortgages, and
servitudes.

Intellectual Property means a right that accrues to an individual or an organization for creative
work. His right is the creation of the intellect. In fiction, it is a property that is quite different
from real property or a formal property.

Intellectual property is an asset like other forms of tangible property. The important feature of
this property is that it is an incorporeal or intangible property that cannot be defined or identified
by its physical parameter. However, like the other forms of tangible property, it can be
transferred i.e. sold, bought, assigned, mortgaged, licensed by applying the law.

The IT Act,2000 has addressed the misuse of technology in form of cyber crimes. It has
however failed to discuss Intellectual Property issues and its protection. Likewise, the Indian
Trademark Act, 1999 and Copyright Act, 1957 are also silent on issues arising out of online
Trademark and Copyright infringement. Though computer programmes are protected under
the Copyright Act but it does not provide remedies for online software piracy. Cyber squatting
is also not punishable directly under the IT Act.

Attributes or Characteristics of Intellectual Property:

(1) Intellectual property is a property in fiction and not in fact or not real property.

(ii) It is right which is relating to some material objects or real property.

(ii) It is an asset like other forms of tangible property. But it is an incorporeal or intangible
property that cannot be defined or identified by its physical parameter

(iv) It is saleable and transferable but only attached to its object. The price of the object is not
determined by the sale or transfer of the intellectual property in the material object.

(v) It is confined and extended to a defined period of its life.

(vi) It is more valuable than the real property or article itself.

Benefits of Protection of Intellectual Property

 Safeguarding of individual interests

 Progress of science and technology
 Progress and development of nations or the world at large.
 The work of the inventors is recognized and protected,
 Help in the growth of industries.

INDIAN LAW RELATING TO IPRS

India is a founder member of both GATT and WTO. However, in India, several laws
exist for the protection of intellectual property, such as:
1. The Patent and Designs Act, 1911.
2. The Copyright Act, 1957.
3. The Trade Marks Act, 1971.
4. The Patents Act, 1970.

Topic 3-Copyright and cyber law-

Copyright is a legal term describing rights given to creators for their literary and artistic works.
The kinds of works covered by copyright include: literary works such as novels, poems, plays,
reference works, newspapers and computer programs; databases; films, musical compositions,
and choreography; artistic works such as paintings, drawings, photographs and sculpture;
architecture; and advertisements, maps and technical drawings. Copyright subsists in a work
by virtue of creation; hence it‟s not mandatory to register. However, registering a copyright
provides evidence that copyright subsists in the work and creator is the owner of the work.
Creators often sell the rights to their works to individuals or companies best able to market the
works in return for payment. These payments are often made dependent on the actual use of
the work, and are then referred to as royalties. These economic rights have a time limit, (other
than photographs) is for life of author plus sixty years after creator‟s death.

Online Copyright violation-

Caching

One of the basic copyright issues in the internet is determining the border between private and
public use. The Indian Copyright Act, 1957 makes a distinction between reproduction for
public use and can be done only with the right holder‟s permission. The right of reproduction
presents certain fundamental problems over the internet. This is because of the basic nature of
internet transmission. Reproduction takes place at every stage of transmission. Temporary
copying (known as caching) is an essential part of the transmission process through
internet without which messages cannot travel through the networks and reach their
destinations. In the Indian Law, reproduction has to be in a material form but includes “storing
of it in any medium by electronic means” making caching also violative of copyright.

Plagiarism

Technological progress has made copying of copyright material easy and simple.
Consequently, the control of copyright infringement has very difficult and often impossible.
Books, videos, films, music can be copied without any difficulty and thousands of copies can
made from it and distributed. Taking content from one site, modifying it or just
reproducing has been made possible by digital technology. This has posed new challenges for
the traditional interpretation ofindividual rights and protection under the Copyright Act.
Protection of Database

The Indian Copyright Act 1957 protects “Databases” as “Literary Works” under Section 13(1)
a. Of the Act which says that copyright shall subsist throughout India in original literary,
dramatic, musical and artistic works. The term computer Database has been defined in the
Information Technology Act 2000 for the first time. Section 43 of the I.T. Act 2000 provides
for compensation to the aggrieved party up to one Crore rupees from a person who violates the
copyright and cyberspace norms. Also Section 66 of I.T.Act 2000 provides for penal liabilities
insuch a case.

Protection of computer software

According to section 2(ffc) of the Copyright Act, a computer programme is a "set of

instructions expressed in words, codes, schemes or in any other form, including a machine
readable medium, capable of causing a computer to perform a particular task or achieve a
particular results". Computer software is "computer programme" within the meaning of the
Copyright Act.

Under the T.R.I.P.S (Trade Related aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) agreement,
computer programs now qualify for copyright protection just as any other literary work as well
as other forms of Intellectual Property Rights protection

These computer software are also subject matter of copyright protection under the
Copyright Act. Computer programmes are included in the definition of literary work under the
Copyright Act. Owner of the computer software possesses with various right including the
right to grant software licenses. Software licenses can be of various types such as
freeware license, opensource license, demoware etc.

Software copyright owner has the right to reproduce and make any number of copies of his
work as he likes. Secondly, he may display his software on the internet which would amount
to display to the public. He is also vested with the rights of selling, renting, transferring,
updating, modifying his software copyrighted work. No person can use such copyrighted work
for his own benefit without prior permission of the owner. Nevertheless if any person exploits
the copyrighted work for any commercial purpose or to cause any monetary loss to the owner,
then it will amount to infringement of copyright.

Even though the software copyright owner enjoys many exclusive rights yet they are not
absolute and are subject to certain limitations and exceptions in order to protect and safeguard
the public interest particularly of the users of the software.

In certain circumstances, the use of the copyrighted work is allowed even without the
permission of its author in some socially desirable circumstances such as literary, dramatic,
musical or artistic work for the purpose of private use, including research, criticism or review,
in order to utilize the computer program for the purpose for which was supplied or to make
back-up copies purely as a temporary protection against loss, destruction or damage in order
only to utilize the computer program for the purpose for which it was supplied.

Topic 4- Trademark and cyber law –

Trademark is a distinctive sign that identifies certain goods or services as those produced or
provided by a specific person or enterprise. It may be one or a combination of words, letters,
and numerals. They may consist of drawings, symbols, three-dimensional signs such as the
shape and packaging of goods, audible signs such as music or vocal sounds, fragrances, or
colours used as distinguishing features. It provides protection to the owner of the mark by
ensuring the exclusive right to use it to identify goods or services, or to authorize another to
use it in return for payment. It helps consumers identify and purchase a product or service
because its nature and quality, indicated by its unique trademark, meets their needs.
Registration of trademark is prima facie proof of its ownership giving statutory right to the
proprietor. Trademark rights may be held in perpetuity. The initial term of registration is for 10
years; thereafter it may be renewed from time to time.

MEANING OF TRADEMARK
Definition under the WIPO Hand Book on Intellectual Property: According to the WIPO Hand
Book on Intellectual Property "A trademark is any sign that individualises the goods of a given
enterprise and distinguishes them from the goods of its competitors."
Definition under the Trademarks Act, 1999 of India: The Trademarks Act, 1999 of India
defines a trademark as "a mark capable of being represented graphically and which is capable
of distinguishing the goods or services of one person from those of others and may include the
shape of goods, their packaging, and combination of colours."

Therefore, in the simple term, we can say that trademark is a mark that can be represented
graphically and it includes a word, name, symbol, number, letter, signature, ticket, brand,
slogan, picture, sounds, smell, shape, logo, graphic design, three-dimensional structure,
moving image, produce and so on. It is distinctive of a person's goods or services and is used
to identify those goods and services distinguish them from the goods and services of other
persons.

Functions of Trademark
Trademark performs the following main functions:

(1) It identifies the goods and services with which it is associated, as the mark must be
distinctive to identify the goods and services.

(2) It guarantees the quality of goods. It also brings a reputation for the quality and reliability
of goods and services. It enables the owner to maintain and enhance the standard for which
they have become known.

(3) It advertises the product.

(4) It creates an image of the product in the minds of the consumer.

Attributes Of a Good Trademark

(1) It must be distinct and should be capable of distinguishing goods and services from others.

(2) A mark can be a word, letter, device, and so on but it must be simple, easy to speak, spell,
and remember.

(3) It must be short.

(4) It must be ear and eye-catching.

(5) It must not be similar or deceptively similar to the mark of another person, therefore, a
 preliminary survey must be conducted before adopting any mark to find out whether any other
person is using the same o similar mark.

(6) It must satisfy the condition of registration.

Registrable And Non Registrable Trademark

A Trademark can be of two types:
(a) Registrable Trademarks
(b) Non-registrable Trademarks
Domain name- a domain name is the linguistic counterpart Internet Protocol address.

Domain Name Dispute and Trademark

law-Cybersquatting

Various types of domain names disputes come for consideration before the courts all over
world. One of the most serious kinds of disputes has been about „Cybersquatting‟ which
involves the use of a domain name by a person with neither registration nor any inherent rights
to the name. Trademarks and domain names being similar, have been exploited by some
people who register trademarks of others as domain names and sell those domain names back
to the trademarks owners or third parties at a high profit. This is known as „cybersquatting‟
which means some person sitting on the property of another person. The practice of
„cybersquatting‟ is abusive whereby one entity registers a domain name that includes the
name or the trademarks of another. This practice shows the importance of the role played by
domain names in establishing online identity. This practice is usually famous in order to either
block the legitimate user registering its most sought after domain name or hoping to sell the
names for profit in the market. Such a trend of cybersquatting has led the courts to consider the
relationship between trademarks and domain names. To file a complaint to prevent
cybersquatting, the complainant will have to prove the dishonest intention, lack of legitimate
rights and interests and similarity of domain name with the trademark.

Reverse domain name hijacking

It is also known as reverse cybersquatting. It happen when a trademark owner tries to secure a
domain name by making false cybersquatting claims against a domain name‟s rightful owner
through legal action. Sometimes, domain names owner has to transfer ownership of the
domain name to the trademark owners to avoid legal action and costly expenses, particularly
when the domain names belong to the smaller organisations or individual who are not
economically sound to fight the case. Reverse domain name hijacking is most commonly done
by larger corporations and famous wealthy individuals.

Meta tags

Meta tag is an element of web pages that is also known as Meta elements. Meta tags provide
information about page descriptions, key words and other relevant data. Originally, Meta tags
were used in search engines to define what the page was about when the internet was in the
early stages, Meta tags were used to help the place web pages in the correct categories.
Nowadays, people abuse Meta tags to build false page rankings for web pages that were poorly
constructed. Meta tags can be categorized into title, description and keywords.

Topic 5- Cyber Jurisdiction and legal issues

Introduction

The jurisdiction, in general, refers to "A government's general power to exercise authority over
all persons and things within its territory". The term "cyber- jurisdiction" refers to a real-world
government's power and a normally existing Court's authority over Internet users and their
activities in the cyber world.

The main difference between the real world and the cyber world is that the real world is a
physical entity with a well-defined border dividing it into sovereign States. On the other hand, In
theVirtual world, there are no physical boundaries. As the Internet has led to the disappearance
of boundaries, sometimes a netizen is not aware of whom he is chatting with and where the
person is located. In such a situation if a legal dispute arises between two persons
communicating on the Internet then which Court will have jurisdiction to decide that case is still
an issue that is yet to be resolved satisfactorily.
A significant reality is that net users and the hardware they we are never virtual but have a
physical presence in one country or the other, upon whom the jurisdiction an be exercised, and
such jurisdiction is called cyber-jurisdiction or jurisdiction in cyberspace. there is no law or
international instrument relating to jurisdiction in Cyber World or Cyber Space.

In the Internet or cyberspace, information is broken into small bits which can be transmitted
according to available capacity. These packets are labeled with the address of the addressee and
may follow several different routes from computer to computer until reaching the final
destination where the receiving computer reassembles them as these were originally sent. the
Internet uses a packet system of transmission having different nodes situated in different
continents so any single State cannot claim that any activity has entirely taken place within its
borders so that it can have jurisdiction over it.

Cyber jurisdiction in cyberspace is still in the stage of development as a legal concept.

Cyber Law and Jurisdiction

One of the biggest drawbacks of the Model Law on E-commerce, 1996 and Information
Technology Act, 2000, is that these are silent about the jurisdiction of the Courts in the cyber
world.

Therefore, in the present scenario, an important question is whether the present law of
Jurisdiction of Physical World applies to Cyber World, or a Separate Law is required?

Regarding this there are the following two views:

(i) If the two worlds are not related, then a separate law of jurisdiction is required for each

(ii) But if there is a strong connection between the two, then, with necessary modifications, the
existing law of the jurisdiction of the physical world can be applied to both

The argument in favour of the first view is that physical boundaries have disappeared in the
cyber world therefore physical world and the cyber world are not connected, hence separate law
of jurisdiction is required for the cyber world However, this view does not appear to be logical
because though in the cyber world there are no geographical boundaries but still in the physical
world these boundaries are existing.
The argument in favour of the second view is that though in the cyber world there are no
geographical boundaries netizens are citizens of some countries and they are governed by the
national laws of those countries. Therefore, the physical world and cyber world are connected
and hence present law of the jurisdiction of the physical world, with minor modifications, can be
applied to the cyber world.

Concept of cyber space jurisdiction

Cyber space is a dynamic and virtual space which is created by the internet and World Wide
Web. In other words cyber space is the web of consumer electronics, computers and
communications network which interconnect the world.

Issues of Jurisdiction of Cyber space

• Determination of jurisdiction of cyberspace is complex, critical and problematic. Because

user can easily access the website any where the world or can use internet anywhere with can use
internet anywhere within the territorial limit any of the countries in the world for the countries in
the world for the commission of cyber crime.

• Issues of jurisdiction of cyberspace have become very debatable in the case of crime due
to the very universal nature of the cyber crime.

• with the ever-growing arm of the cyber space the territorial concept seems to vanish.

• There is no availability of a specific comprehensive legislation for the determination of

whether a particular event in cyber space is controlled by the law of state or country where the
website is located or by the law of the state or the country where the internet service provider is
located

• Cyber jurisdictional issues should be examined in civil and criminal courts of well
depending upon the nature of cyber crime committed in cyberspace.

The Indian position regarding cyber jurisdiction

In India, Sections 15 till 20 of the Civil Procedure1908 and Sections 177 till 188 of the Indian
Criminal Procedure Code 1973, deal with civil and criminal jurisdiction respective. Under Cr.
P.C. territorial jurisdiction depends upon the place where offence is committed.

Present Law of Jurisdiction in India

There are mainly two types of jurisdiction in India:

(i) Civil law jurisdiction

(ii) Criminal law jurisdiction.

Civil Law Jurisdiction.-Jurisdiction of Civil Courts in India is of three types i.e. Pecuniary
Jurisdiction, Subject Matter Jurisdiction and Territorial Jurisdiction.

In case of civil matter which arises in cyberspace, the provisions of CPC 1908 will be applicable
with certain modification.

Under the C.P.C. the territorial jurisdiction is based upon:

(i) place of residence of the defendant, and

(ii) place where cause of action arises.

But in the cyber world there may be more than one place of cause of action, such as place of
cause of action may be a place where a Website is accessed, or place where server is located or
place from where an electronic record is sent or place where an electronic record is received.
However, in the Information Technology Act 2000, time and place of dispatch and receipt of
electronic record is defined.

Section 75 of the Information Technology Act, 2000 extends jurisdiction of Indian Courts to an
offence or contravention committed outside India by any person irrespective of his nationality.
Further, this law is to apply to an offence or contravention committed outside India by any
person if the act or conduct constituting the offence or contravention involves a computer,
computer system or computer network located in India.

Criminal law jurisdiction

Section 177 – According to this section, the Court under whose jurisdiction the offence has been
committed has the authority to inquire into and try such case. Therefore generally an offence is
inquired and tried by the court within whose jurisdiction such offence is committed.

However the above section is applicable to the places where the Cr. P. C. is applicable. Therefore
this section will not apply to the places which is situated in foreign a country.

The conditions related to the offences when committed outside the territory of India have been
dealt with under section 188.

According to this section, when an offence is committed outside India-

by a citizen of India, whether on the high seas or elsewhere

by a person, not being such citizen, on any ship or aircraft registered in India.

Such a person may be treated in respect of such offence as if it had been committed at any place
within India and at such a place, where he may be found.

The proviso to this section specifies that no such offence shall be inquired into or tried in India
without the previous sanction from the Central Government. The most important factor in the
above-mentioned provision is the place where the offence has been committed.

Thus this section deals with the case when the offence is committed outside India. These
offences have to be deemed to have been committed in India, if committed by an Indian citizen,
in high seas or in any other place. Also, when the offence is committed by a person who although
is not an Indian citizen but is travelling in any Indian aircraft or ship.

Section 188 and Section 189 should be read together. They proceed on the basis that a fugitive is
in India and can be found anywhere in India. The Court has to find the accused and the finding of
the accused has to be done where the accused appears. It is clear from the above section that the
accused cannot be found by a mere complaint or by the Police.

Section 75 of Information Technology Act applies to those offence or contraventions which are
committed outside India.-
(1) Subject to the provisions of sub-section (2), the provisions of this Act shall apply also to
any offence or contravention committed outside India by any person irrespective of his
nationality.

(2) For the purposes of sub-section (1), this Act shall apply to an offence or contravention
committed outside India by any person if the act or conduct constituting the offence or
contravention involves a computer, computer system or computer network located in India.