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The opportunities for inexpensive publishing on the Web have made "publishers" out of everyone who posts material online. While Web technology has made publishing more accessible to everyone, it's also brought potential copyright disputes to the masses. The rules for photos, text, music and artwork discussed in previous chapters (see Sidebar) apply just the same to websites and there is no reason to repeat them in this chapter. Instead, this chapter focuses on two specific problem areas for webmasters: unauthorized transfers of information to and from websites, and website linking.
- Copyright infringement occurs whenever copyrighted material is transferred to or from a website without authorization from the copyright owner. Transferring information to and from a website can be done in a few ways. A user can take information from a website by copying or downloading. Or, material can be placed (sometimes called "uploaded" or "posted") from a user's computer onto the website. Any time copyrighted information is transferred to or from a website without authorization from the owner, the owner may have a copyright infringement claim against the copier, the website or both. We'll discuss how to limit liability and what to do if confronted by an angry rights holder.
- Website links involve another potential area of copyright conflict. A link takes a user from one website page to another simply by clicking on a word or image. Although permission is not needed for a simple word link (also known as a "hypertext" link), it is required when the link comprises a trademark from the linked site (for example, using the Amazon logo without permission). Some other types of links known as framed links also require permission.
This chapter discusses these Web-specific permission issues and how to obtain the necessary permissions for website uses. We also provide a sample linking agreement for you to use. Since websites are becoming increasingly common targets for infringement lawsuits, we will focus on how website owners and people who manage websites (webmasters) can minimize their liability.
If you have hired a webmaster to maintain the site, the information in this chapter will be of use to both of you. While the webmaster will need to understand copyright rules in order to keep the site out of legal trouble, it's generally the owner of the site who will be liable for any claims of infringement. When we refer to the webmaster or the owner of a site in this chapter, keep in mind that both the webmaster and the owner should be aware of and compliant with copyright rules on the Web. In general, the trouble areas include using copyrighted material or trademarks used without authorization, or using a person's image used for commercial purposes without authorization, or if a person is defamed or suffers invasion of privacy.
- Websites: Five Ways to Stay Out of Trouble
- Assume It's Protected
- Read Click-Wrap Agreements
- Remove Unauthorized Material
- Investigate Claims Promptly
- When in Doubt, Seek Permission
- Transferring Information to and From a Website
- Posting Information on a Website
- Taking Information From a Website
- Connecting to Other Websites
- Linking and Framing
- Linking Agreementss
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©2005-2008 The Board of Trustees
of the Leland Stanford Junior University. With the exception of the Nolo Copyright and Fair Use Overview, this work is
licensed under a Creative Commons
Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 United States License.