www.chinwag.com - uk-netmarketing - roundup

Linking...going down deep
UK-Netmarketing Weekly Round-up - October 20, 2000

A key component of an online marketing campaign is getting links to your website. Just making your content more useful normally involves a few links to other websites for further information, but what is the legal situation of linking to other websites? Do you have to ask permission or just in certain contexts? Surely the web is all about linking, but do the lawyers agree?

Chris Lascelles raised these questions, asking the list, "I have a question. Does one need permission to link to a web site? I was under the impression that one did not but others are not so sure. Does anyone know the legal implications of this?"

Ben Hunt replied, "Things that could get you into trouble are in the realm of passing off, such as wrapping another body's site in your frame etc."

Unfortunately, problems with links have hit the headlines before, as James Downes pointed out, "There was definitely a court case a couple of years ago in the US (where else) where I think it was Warner Bros successfully sued another site for 'deep linking' to their site. By deep linking they meant that the site avoided Warner's home page and linked directly to the content, thereby avoiding all of those banner ads etc that would have been seen if the visitor had used Warner's navigation route. Having said that many sites don't seem to care, or actively encourage it, for example Amazon.com's Affiliate program."

Mary Loosemore highlighted another case, which ended up in court, "It was Shetland Times v Shetland News http://www.builder.com/Business/Law/ss13a.html but they settled out of court and as far as i know there hasn't been a case which has gone all the way through the courts to decide on the issue."

Alex Bainbridge held a different view, pointing out, "A search engines business is linking to other sites - including 'spidering' them for content. There is nothing wrong with it in my book. We have actually made a point on our websites of linking to as many sites as possible (and organising the links in a suitable manner) - this gives much more usefulness to our web customers - and makes them come back for more. Many dotcom websites are 'islands' so therefore need much more marketing as you have to pay to attract each individual customer."

Mark Bunting added, "Strictly speaking linking constitutes trademark infringement if the URL includes a trademark (which for most commercial sites it would) and the site owner can do you for it. But it would be pretty petty and most site owners don't care as long as, as Paul says, you're not doing anything scandalous or defamatory."

Sally Krumholz expanded on her approach to linking, writing, "Just wanted to add my 2-cents. My experience is that it's always best to ask permission from the publisher. If they deny you permission to link to them, then you cannot. Policy always dictates that you inform them that you've linked to them. Who knows, you might get cross-linked. That was the policy at my former company, which is a people-powered search engine of sorts."

After researching the issue through friends, Paul Carr posted, "Having spoken to some legal friends of mine, I think I can explain the linking situation as it currently stands in UK law. I'm still no expert though so if there are any lawyers on here, a second opinion would be useful. Basically, there is no UK legal precedent for providing simple text links to a web site's home page so, unless a site owner objects, you are ok to link to anyone you like. After all, if this type linking was a problem, sites like Altavista and, of course, Zingin would be open to a whole lot of trouble. You may hit problems if you frame the content to pass off as your own or link to a page within someone else's site (although lots of news aggregators couldn't survive without deep links) - and it's always a good idea to ask the site owner for permission just to cover your back. If you want a proper legal opinion (complete with cases), try http://mirrored.ukoln.ac.uk/lis-journals/dlib/dlib/dlib/april98/04orourke.html or http://ahds.ac.uk/bkgd/copyrightfaq.html#faq21"

Paul continued, "I'm not sure about the trademark infringement question of mentioning the site's name but, [as far as I know], you won't get into trouble as long as you don't suggest a (non-existent) association with the linked-to site (i.e. don't use logo's or words like 'partners'. Bottom line: You can link to sites provided you tell the webmaster, you're not slagging them off, don't claim to have a partnership arrangement with them and only link to their home page."

A little common sense appears to go a long way in this area, although it's heartening how little these cases have cropped up in the courts considering the number of links on an average website.

receive uk-netmarketing-roundup by email, every week
Just pop your email address in the form below and receive the uk-netmarketing roundup via email each week. You'll receive an email with details on how to confirm your subscription.

return to top