Who owns your website?
Who owns your website?
- 2003
- Solicitors' Journal 147(4) 31 January 2003, 105(1) .
Discusses the problems associated with the ownership of the intellectual property (IP) in a website. When a client commissions a site to be developed by an independent contractor, the client may believe that if they pay for the development they then own the work but this is not necessarily the case. With developers the commercial position is more complex, they may not wish to give away software coding but they may assign components that have been specifically designed for the client. The IP in a web site is largely copyright but other IPs may also be relevant. Some website owners include a third party's trade mark in the hidden meta content of the site. This was considered in "Reed Executive plc v Reed Business Information Ltd" [2002] when the former brought a successful action for trade mark infringement against Reed Business Information.
INTERNET
INTERNET-PROTOCOL
WEBSITES
COPYRIGHT DESIGNS AND PATENTS ACT 1988
REED EXECUTIVE PLC V REED BUSINESS INFORMATION LTD
Discusses the problems associated with the ownership of the intellectual property (IP) in a website. When a client commissions a site to be developed by an independent contractor, the client may believe that if they pay for the development they then own the work but this is not necessarily the case. With developers the commercial position is more complex, they may not wish to give away software coding but they may assign components that have been specifically designed for the client. The IP in a web site is largely copyright but other IPs may also be relevant. Some website owners include a third party's trade mark in the hidden meta content of the site. This was considered in "Reed Executive plc v Reed Business Information Ltd" [2002] when the former brought a successful action for trade mark infringement against Reed Business Information.
INTERNET
INTERNET-PROTOCOL
WEBSITES
COPYRIGHT DESIGNS AND PATENTS ACT 1988
REED EXECUTIVE PLC V REED BUSINESS INFORMATION LTD