Deep Linking, Framing, Inlining and Extension of Copyrights: Recent Cases in Common Law Jurisdictions
AbstractThe article discusses intellectual property rights issues that arise from the use of certain web page authoring techniques such as hyperlinking, deep linking, framing and inlining. The author discusses first whether hyperlinking remains in the public domain and second, how much hyperlinking (and in what technical form) may be allowed by IP owners without authorization or licensing. Click-on agreements, wrap-around licenses and cross-link agreements are briefly discussed in the context of the creation of 'super copyrights' related to hyperlinking. The author concludes that hyperlinking, including deep linking, appears to cause few problems under copyright law, that the law regarding framing is currently uncertain, and that inlining appears to be outlawed. |