Legal Issues for Website Owners (Part 3)
Previous columns have identified copyrights, the use of false or misleading statements, and trademarks as legal issues for business owners with websites. This week’s column briefly addresses two other issues to discuss with your lawyer: domain names and linking to other websites.
The choice of a domain name carries both legal and business implications. Your domain name is vital to successful branding, so make sure you can trademark your domain and company name. Do a simple trademark search at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s website (www.uspto.gov). If the search is clear, try to register the domain name you want. (Google, Yahoo!, GoDaddy.com, and other companies register domain names for $10 or less.) Then, after you’ve talked with your lawyer and done a thorough trademark search, register your company name and domain name as trademarks with the trademark office. From a business perspective, you’ll probably want to protect not only your trademark but also the value of your domain name by obtaining multiple top-level domains, such as “.com,” “.net,” “.biz,” and “.web.”
“Linking” (inserting hyperlinks to other Web pages) allows your website’s visitors to explore helpful content on other sites. Without links, the Internet wouldn’t be much of a net, but linking carries some risks. Copyright and trademark issues can come up, so make it clear that you didn’t create and are not affiliated with the linked websites, and advise visitors that you’re not responsible for their content, which may contain copyrighted or trademarked materials. “Deep-linking” (linking to pages “below” the homepage level) may also raise concerns, as owners of the linked Web pages may argue that you’ve helped visitors to bypass their main advertising pages. Eliminate or reduce the risks of linking by 1)not providing links, 2)complying with the linked website’s terms of use, 3)having a lawyer write terms and conditions for your website, and/or 4) getting written permission from website owners to link to their sites.
The Internet makes it easy for trademark and copyright owners to patrol the use of their intellectual property – and for competitors to know what you’re saying about them. With the rise of powerful search engines like Yahoo! and Google, companies from Lubbock to London can easily find out what you’re up to. Before you launch your website, consider the issues we’ve outlined and get some guidance from a good business lawyer.
This article appears in May 1 • 2009.