Apart from laws associated with the use of images, text, scripts, trademarks, there are also certain rules while using links. The violation of these guidelines will lead to abuse of web laws.

Use of Links:

The World Wide Web has paved the way for an easy and fast dissemination of information. The introduction of hyper links was a significant development. The web visitors can reach to the desired topic in no time by clicking the link.

It is essential that certain rules must be followed while adding links to the other web pages or the other website.

1. Inappropriate use of trademark of another party may lead to confusion to the human eye. Consumers may end up purchasing products and services of the second party who uses the mark of the trademark owner. In this case, any links that misleads the web visitors to believe that the second party is sponsored or approved by the owner of the trademark will eventually end up in trademark infringement.
2. Sometimes, a link to the web pages or images could be defamatory in nature. It may also lead to legal liability in the end. For instance, DIVINE WORD MISSIONARIES. THE BUTT BOYS. [www.buttboys.org]
3. If anyone utilizes a link to give a wrong impression to the public that the work of another person is his or her original work then it leads to infringement of the web laws.
4. In case of use of images of another website in a particular web page by means of image link, it is mandatory to acquire prior permission of the author of the created image. The unauthorized linking leads to copyright infringement by the builder of the newly built web page.

Use of Domain name:

It is a very daunting task to find a telling domain name that speaks volumes about the type of business, its products and services. An arresting domain name has a powerful impact on the mind of the web users and also the search engines crawlers. The domain name of a website clearly identifies and distinguishes it from the rest of the crowd.

It is very much important to select a perfect domain name and also protect it while building a new website. Here, it is significant to note that the growth of the Internet had an alarming effect and one such is the increased rate of web clashes with regard to domain names of websites.

The candyland.com issue concerned about an adult entertainment provider and Hasbro. It took a long time for Hasbro to register its domain name, which led to a dispute in the later stage. However, Hasbro is now entitled to use the candyland.com domain name. In yet another incident, an author initially took up the mcdonalds.com from the Wired magazine. The concerned author was writing on the importance of domain names. As means of feedback, the author requested to send comments at ronald@mcdonalds.com. In the end, the concerned author successfully persuaded the McDonalds Company to give a generous payment in substitute of returning the domain name to the company.

Certain web laws have been designed in order to avoid from legal issues concerned with the domain names of the websites.

1. Selecting domain name for a website is a very challenging effort. It is necessary to note that the domain names are of hierarchical manner. The top-level domain names comprise of ‘. Com’. Also, each and every country have top level domain names ( also called country code TLDs’ or ccTLDs) as ‘ .in’ ,for India, ‘uk’ for United Kingdom. There is second level domain, which consist of the other part. For instance, ‘http://www.webguru-india.com’. Here, ‘webguru-india’ is the second level domain name (2TLD). In fact, domain name disputes rise out of the second level domain name.

   It would be a wise effort to conduct a trademark search to find out that any other company has not used the selected domain name. In case, a domain name of another party is taken up then it will lead to violation of the web law.

2. 2. In case of protection of the selected domain name, it is imperative for the new website developer to obtain trademark registration. In case of failing to register in the right time may result in loosing the domain name of the website. Another party may use the selected domain name by registering earlier.
3. 3. Issue of reclaiming domain name is another source of domain name dispute. If a party discovers that any other party has used its domain name, it may take up legal action against the alleged party for the crime of violating the laws of the web.

As mentioned above, it is essential that the newly built websites must follow these basic guidelines. Strict adherence to these principles proves to be fruitful.

It is noteworthy that in the recent times, the rapid growth of Internet crimes is threatening our lifestyle. Use of unfair practices is growing at an alarming rate and much beyond imagination. The onset of social networking sites has farther aggravated the malady. At this juncture, it has become imperative to act according to certain rules to avoid from falling prey to unfair practices. However, it is high time to take progressive steps in order to ensure qualitative flow of information.

One Comment

1. Subrato Paul says:

   September 30, 2009 at 1:06 pm

   Is domain name copyright protected after registration? If not, why do we publish copyright yoursite.com. All rights reserved. What this copyright message means?

   My problem is that my domain name is used by two different parties as subdomain of WordPress and Blogger blogs, also on twitter. With the result, I can’t use GoldenTwine.wordpress.com as my blog address.

   Do I have any options? Can I take any action?

   Reply to this comment

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