Risky Business?

The Internet, while opening the world's markets to virtually every business, has also broadened the risk of doing business. Every country has the right to enforce its own laws. But what happens in cyberspace, when an act is illegal in one country and legal in another? There is no way for a small business - in Montana or any other state - to totally protect itself from legal challenges stemming from Internet sales. US case law does, however, make a distinction between "active" and "passive" Web sites. Typically, the more active a Web site is, the more responsibility the host company assumes. So what should a small, Montana-based company do to protect itself in the new global Web-based marketplace? One approach might be for businesses to enter into private contractual agreements with other international businesses - foreign companies that could take care of marketing and sales in their own country.