The Common Law

Legal Issues for Website Owners

We all have our own definition of the American Dream, but for millions of people, owning a respected and profitable business is a big part of it. Cultural icons like Apple Computer, Hershey's Chocolate, Mary Kay Cosmetics, and Ford Motor Co. all started in a dreamer's home or garage. Today more than half of all American businesses are run from an owner's home, and many rely almost exclusively on Internet sales. E-commerce is big business, with annual retail sales of more than $130 billion and growing. Popular books such as The 4-Hour Workweek and titles from the For Dummies series have inspired would-be entrepreneurs to start Web-based businesses. Moreover, with the economic downturn, millions have lost jobs and are looking for ways to supplement their incomes and channel their creativity.

Over the next three weeks, this column will highlight several legal issues that a website owner should consider. Nothing spoils a budding business like a lawsuit. So here are a few issues you should discuss with a lawyer before launching your website:

copyright concerns,

use of trademarks,

defamation and misleading advertising,

domain names, and

linking to other websites.

Copyright law gives the creator of a work – including books, photos, drawings, graphics, music, and films – several rights, such as the rights to reproduce, publicly display, create derivatives of, and distribute a work. Copyright problems often arise when you use someone else's images, photos, drawings, graphics, text, or music for your website. The copy-and-paste function makes illegal copying so easy, but don't give into the temptation. There are several ways to avoid copyright problems. You can create your own text and images, get the copyright owner's permission to use his or her works, copy from clip-art libraries (consistent with their licenses), and use works that are not protected by copyright (but always make sure a work is really unprotected).

Check out next week's column for information on trademarks and the dangers of false and misleading statements (including suits for defamation and misleading advertising).