Re: Linking to other sites
Regarding the question by Andrew Grosset, here is an
excpert from our LawMaster on subject:
As of today deep linking is treated legally the same as
an ordinary, run-of-the-mill link with four exceptions.
Ordinary links are a part of the culture of the Web
-they've been tested in court and are perfectly legal
to do.
But the legality of deep linking is in a state of
evolution and the exceptions have arisen by sites
convincing a court that deep linking causes them some
kind of harm or loss.
The exceptions to when a deep linking may get you into
trouble are, if the deep link:
1.) Infringes on or dilutes the owner's trademark;
2.) Casts the linked site in a bad light
3.) Takes away credit for the linked site's content, or
4.) Costs the link site revenues.
It's these exceptions that could get you into legal
trouble. If you're certain you don't violate any of
these four exceptions you should be ok with a deep
link. However, a legal action still depends on how
liberally a site wants to intrperate these exceptions
and how zealously they and their council want to pursue
them and weather or not they can prove them to a court.
The safest thing to do is to obtain permission to use
the deep link before it is used.
For extended explanination on this, updates, and "how to"
information on other legal issues confronted by the
Internet industry see http://www.lawforinternet.com/
Mark A. Schmidt
Law for Internet
Received on Fri Jun 16 2000 - 12:32:39 CDT
