Linking and Framing: When Can You Do It?

It’s hard to imagine a Web site with any traffic that doesn’t include links to services, articles and resources to make a visitor’s life easier.

But linking to and “framing” other sites can carry some legal risk. Although you may not think about it when building an attractive, useful Web site, copyright issues emerge when you link to the sites of other companies. Reason: The copyright owner has the exclusive right to distribute and reproduce the work, but also to create spin-off (derivative) products based on the original.

There have been a number of lawsuits filed in the U.S. and abroad by companies that don’t want other Web sites linking to them for a variety of reasons, including:

False association. The way one site links to another can suggest a nonexistent connection between the two companies.

Interference with business advantage. By taking viewers directly to an inside page on a Web site, ad revenues might be lost because the visitors bypass the home page, where advertising is located.

Partial copyright infringement. Inside pages of a Web site are essentially copied when linking and framing.

Although the legality of linking and framing is not a clear issue, there is one essential lesson from the cases filed so far: No company wants to lose ad revenues, or spend money accumulating and formatting content, only to have a competitor access it for free.

Another important point: If there’s any suggestion of a nonexistent association between your Web site and a site that you’re linking to, you may get objections, especially from a better-known brand name.

Importing Information

When setting up a Web site and filling it with content, many Webmasters use these techniques to import information from other sites:

Text hyperlink. Using HTML, you link to the home page of another site containing information useful to your audience.

Graphic hyperlink. Instead of a textual reference, either a logo or a button on your site takes the reader to another site.

“Deep” link. A form of text hyperlink which, rather than taking you to another site’s home page, skips the home page and takes you directly to a specific inside page containing data you need.

Framing. Material from another site is imported and framed by your site. Sometimes the frame obscures material, such as advertising. This causes a viewer to see it differently than on the original site and may be considered an alteration that violates copyright protections.

What You Can Do

To protect your company, here are some intelligent ways to connect with another site:

• Get permission from the owner of any site that you want to link or frame. There may be an advisory on the site stating whether or not permission is needed. Review the other site’s “terms of use”, as well as your own.
• Let visitors to your Web site know that links are provided for their convenience, and that you don’t own the other sites. Make no promises as to the quality of the other site’s information, services or products.
• If you link to a graphic, find out whether the other owner holds the copyright to the graphic, so you won’t be tagged as an unauthorized user.
• Check links frequently to make sure they’re still accurate, provide useful information, and don’t lead to illegal or objectionable material. Often, links change after you set them up.
• If your site frames content from another, you need to ensure the placement doesn’t obscure ads on the other site. Get permission and make sure your frame doesn’t create confusion about which site developed the content.
• The interpretation of laws involving linking and framing are still evolving. Until the situation becomes clear, consult with your attorney and use common sense to avoid alienating other site owners.