Argosy University, Washington DCE-CommerceE-commerce refers to the buying or selling of goods and services over the Internet and is also known as electronic commerce, also called commerce electronic (Roos, 2008). The concept of e-commerce covers a wide range which includes obtaining information through the Internet, advertising, ordering products, downloading applications and music. Additionally, e-commerce allows customers to file their taxes online (Roos, 2008). According to Nasir (2004), e-commerce is available in approximately 100 countries with more than 20 million Internet hosts. The global growth of e-commerce has increased unethical behavior and business practices among users and businesses. In light of unethical behavior and practices, legal and regulatory guidance is needed to address the issues posed by the use of e-commerce. Stead and Gilbert (2001) identified corporate social responsibility issues regarding e-commerce, such as intellectual property rights, online consumer protection, theft in cyberspace, content governance and spam (Stead and Gilbert, 2001). Intellectual Property RightsInternet brands have presented unique challenges as well as opportunities for trademark infringement. The purpose of a trademark is to distinguish businesses from their competitors and protect them from “copiers” who might damage the reputation of the original owner. Physical trademark law allows multiple businesses with the same name provided the type of business is different (Maury & Kleiner, 2002). Internet trademarks are different and Internet trademark registrations are required in order to identify and attribute businesses. Internet addresses. Companies that carry out transa...... middle of paper...... for the 21. Retrieved from http://www.p2pays.org/ref/14/13824/EPR1.pdfMaury, M and Kleiner , D. (2002). E-commerce, ethical commerce? Journal of Business Ethics, 36(1/2), 21-31. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.libproxy.edmc. edu/docview/198194795?accountid=34899Nasir, A. (2004). Legal issues related to e-commerce. Ubiquity, 4(49). Retrieved from http://ubiquity.acm.org/article.cfm?id=985607 Roos, D. (2008). Introduction to the history of E-commerce. Retrieved from http://money.howstuffworks.com/history-e-commerce.htmStead, B. and Gilbert, J. (2001). Ethical issues related to e-commerce. Journal of Business Ethics, 34(2), 75-85. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.libproxy.edmc.edu/docview/198049882?accountid=34899WGIG.org (nd) WGIS Discussion Paper on Electronic Commerce. Retrieved from http://www.wgig.org/docs/WP-Ecommerce.pdf