:NY Times: Legality of 'Deep Linking' Remains Deeply Complicated
NY Times: Legality of 'Deep Linking' Remains Deeply Complicated Apr 7, 2000, 18 :08 UTC (4 Talkback[s]) (4942 reads) (Other stories by Carl S. Kaplan)
"When a federal judge issued a decision last week in a case
involving "deep linking," many reports suggested that the
controversial Internet practice was now unambiguously
legal. But the story is more complex than that. In fact, deep linking --
the practice of linking to a page deep inside another Web site,
bypassing its home page -- still appears to be in legal limbo...."
"Also, Judge Hupp allowed a few claims that attack deep linking to
proceed. For example, he allowed the passing-off and
reverse-passing-off claims to remain, as well as the interference
claim. And although he dismissed the breach of contract claim, he
granted Ticketmaster permission to file an amended complaint with
facts showing that its "terms and conditions" created an enforceable
contract, seen and agreed to by Tickets.com. A lawyer for
Ticketmaster said the company will file an amended complaint shortly
that "we believe will satisfy the court's requirements."
"Indeed, it can fairly be said that Judge Hupp left the door open for a
link-averse Web operator to ban linking via a contract that a Web
surfer is forced to agree to before being allowed to enter a site. He
implied that those who deep link in violation of this conspicuous and
assented to "agreement" would have a potential breach of contract
problem on their hands."
