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Linking to Other Web Sites |
 Can Linking to Web Sites be Illegal?
The Internet would not be the Internet if millions of web pages were not linked together. However, some web publishers see it as an offence if links from third parties by-pass their home page and link directly to a page within their web site (deep linking). The common reason for this is the fact that deep linking by-passes most of their advertising that is located on their home page. In theory, linking is not illegal. However, there have been cases where people have been sued for deep-linking into a web site as opposed to their home page. Such action commonly comes from the larger companies: smaller businesses (with web sites) usually welcome such linking although it is still worthwhile double-checking before you do so (see next section). It may be seen as a violation (by the web publisher) if your links suggests that you are related to the linking web site or if you use their trademarks as a text link.
Avoid Linking Disputes
If you want to link to another web site, you should look at their policy for linking to them (usually found in their 'terms and conditions of use'). Many web publishers are happy for you to freely link to their pages where some may set strict rules for linking to their home page only.
If the web site does not publish a policy, you should contact them for permission prior to deep linking into their site.
You should only link directly to HTML pages and not images, sounds and video. This will give the impression that the material is yours (copyright violation).
Relevant Articles
An Overview of Domain Names
An Overview of Trademarks
An Overview of Copyright Violation |
