In 1994, a BKL attorney handled what was possibly the earliest commercial domain name dispute in Korea between bona fide claimants, namely a U.S. telecom and a Korean dial-up ISP. Since that time, BKL’s e-commerce group has advanced swiftly in step with the fast-evolving technology and practices of online business.

Our e-commerce practice offers specialized, state-of-the-art advice on the full spectrum of issues affecting internet B2B service providers, retailers and auction marketplaces, and hosting sites. The BKL team of some 15 core attorneys draws additionally on their expertise and resources in several sub-disciplines, including corporate, telecommunications and media, intellectual property, and government policy and regulation.

Our team regularly advises on commercial tie-ups and other contracts that underpin many online businesses, including advertising, portal and partnership arrangements, as well as forms of “clickwrap” licenses and consumer purchase contracts. We are have been privileged to assist many established businesses in moving online, as well as new internet enterprises in setting up shop.

BKL provides in-depth advice on the regulatory aspects of online commerce, including registration and disclosure requirements, data privacy and storage, consumer protection rules, and copyright and trademark issues. As counsel to a number of the leading online retailing operations and portal sites in Korea, we monitor and advise on the latest material developments in regulation and policy, as well as judicial precedents in these rapidly evolving areas of law. In the financial area, we have advised several insurer clients on online marketing (as well as telemarketing) of their insurance products.

The Firm has itself also been at the forefront, among Korean law firms, in helping to guide efficient, sensible changes in government regulation as it affects e-commerce. This extends to a regionwide initiative: For the national government of Vietnam, for example, our team has assisted in preparing the country’s e-commerce legislation.

BKL’s e-commerce expertise is complemented by our close affiliation with “Law & Business” (www.lawnb.com), one of the rare websites in Korea offering online legal counseling on a B2B basis. Perhaps unique among law firms in Korea, BKL is able to draw directly from hands-on operational and technical insight, to provide focused, pragmatic advice to our e-commerce clientele.

Representative Clients

BKL’s major e-commerce clients include the following, all of whom we have been privileged to serve for more than five years:

• Gmarket
• Google
• Interpark
• Itemmania
• Lina Korea
• Microsoft (MSN Korea site)
• News Corporation (myspace.com Korea site)
• NHN (“Naver”, the largest Korean portal site)