Copyright Scenarios

Linking to Protected Works

An online teacher sends students to a link deep into a web site to complete a lesson provided there. The web site is operated by a vendor, who markets online instruction.

There are hosts of excellent web links available to support online learning and teaching. This particular teacher had found that she could substitute a vendor’s lessons for her own. The link she provided bypassed the original vendor web site with advertisements and instructions. Of course, she had no permission to do so.

Is this violating copyright?

It would seem that the use of a link to a web site would be harmless. In fact, one could argue that the links would increase the flow of traffic on the web site. While this may be the case, the flow is counted, and advertisers are parked, on external sites. Bypassing those outer links has the potential to reduce the value of all associated links. The fair use measurement of value bring the infringement into question. Then, there are cases that determine that while the link is not a copy, the selection of the link causes a copy to be made onto the RAM. And, the teacher does have ample time to obtain permission. Most likely, the case would not be in favor of the teacher.

The following cases make for interesting reading on deep linking:

Ticketmaster Corp v Tickets.com
Washington Post v Total News, Inc
SNC Havas Numerique v SA Kelijob
Intellectual Reserve Inc. v Utah Lighthouse Ministries, Inc.

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