Federal lawsuits take on the humble hyperlink

[QualityNames.com]

Federal lawsuits take on the humble hyperlink

By Nate Anderson | Published: September 18, 2008 - 05:34AM CT

R.E.M. once sang about "the end of the world as we know it," but Michael Stipe & Co. never suspected that the brat-loving, cheese-eating, grain-growing Midwest might be the source of the world-ending scourge.

But a pair of recent federal court cases coming from Wisconsin and Illinois have threatened to turn the most primitive functionality of the web-the hyperlink-into an "ask permission before linking" system.

Perhaps the full lyric should run, "It's the end of the web as we know it, and I feel fine," except that it's hard to feel to great about the end of the web.

Whole article here

 

[WebForging]

thanks for the tip, more details at Wisconsin web site

I did a search yesterday for "Wisconsin" on NamePros and found your post.

Thank you!

After a few hours of research yesterday and today, I've done a synopsis and opinion at http://www.thebubbler.com/forums/wi...singer-sues-sheboygan-mayor-police-chief.html

Regards,
Keith

 

[QualityNames.com]

I am glad i could help.

 

[sanfran]

Actually this could be a good court case to set precedent

 

[briman1970]

Actually this could be a good court case to set precedent

I agree. The vast majority of websites are public information. Therefore, links are just links to public information. The information posted by BlockShopper was explicitly public. I don't see how this could end up being decided in favor of Jones Day.

 

[Traveler]

I agree. The vast majority of websites are public information. Therefore, links are just links to public information. The information posted by BlockShopper was explicitly public. I don't see how this could end up being decided in favor of Jones Day.

I agree, the problem with BlockShopper is they also used images from the other site without permission. That is a no no. They probably would have been fine if that had not done that.

If the whole linking to other sites without their permission becomes illegal, that would really put a damper on Google's business model.

 

[briman1970]

I agree, the problem with BlockShopper is they also used images from the other site without permission. That is a no no. They probably would have been fine if that had not done that.

That is a copyright, not trademark issue. Since Jones Day has claimed TM dilution, BlockShopper will do OK, IMHO.

 

[labrocca]

Yes in truth this is great news. Because this is such an easy case that links will now get BETTER protection from the law once precedent has been set.

 

[sunken]

One should hope that the judge deciding this case (or a jury) is technically savvy enough to recognize what this case could mean to the net in general. Making links opt in only would cause a rift across the entire net, especially for search engine spiders. Sometimes I think there should be a special court set up for these sorts of things, a court that is well versed in cyberspace culture and requirements.