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Who Owns Your Web Site?

By Lasa Information Systems Team

You think you own your website, but legally and practically the situation may be different.

In late 1998 we had an unusual call from an organisation having problems with their web site.

The problem was fairly fundamental: they had lost control of the site. They had no access to it, couldn't change the content and didn't even know where it was located.

The problem had come about as a result of the way the web site had been established. When the possibility of the web site was first discussed, two of their trustees had volunteered to set it up. Unusually, the resulting web site was very good; a very professional site, complete with a discussion forum. The organisation was pleased and the site began to be heavily used.

However, for reasons unconnected with the web site, the two trustees had a difference of opinion with the organisation. They gave up being trustees and ceased their involvement with the organisation. The web site continued to run successfully but the organisation now had no way of controlling it.

So what should the organisation do? I suggested that the best way to resolve the problem was to come to an understanding with the two ex-trustees, and failing this they should make contingency arrangements to relocate the site.

Using Nominet UK's Name search facility I was able to identify the Internet Service Provider that was hosting the web site. This meant the organisation could, as a last resort, get the ISP to pull the plug on the site. We discussed how they could make a copy of the information on the site in case they needed to start again.

This was a very unusual situation but raises some interesting questions. Who does own a web site? In the event of a dispute who has control? And do you have backup copy of the information on your site?

Thinking in terms of the ownership of a site, we can divide it into two elements. First, there is the content, the information on the site. Unambiguously this is the property of the organisation operating the site. They provided it, it is clearly identified with their logo, they wrote it – it is theirs.

But, legalistic issues of copyright may be purely academic. A more practical concern is what happens to the information if something goes wrong.

As always with data stored on computer you must keep a backup copy of everything on your web site. What happens if the ISP goes bust or suffers major technical problems. You may believe that your ISP is keeping a backup copy for you. But it's worth checking the small print to make sure.

The other element of a web site is the hidden element that make it work; the bits of HTML and JavaScript that do the clever bits to run the discussion forum or keep those fancy graphics in motion. The answer here depends on your contract with the web site designers.

Some web designers provide a service where, for a fee, they host your information on their system. This is particularly the case with web hosts that provide a standard framework for all their clients. In this case you are paying for a service and it is clear that you don't have rights to the workings of the site.

At the other extreme there are web designers who will design a site and hand it over you to do what you will. All the bells and whistles are included and if you want to change the workings of the system you are free to do so. In this case the customer clearly owns and controls the whole site.

In between it's vague. All the more reason to be clear about this issue when you commission someone to design a site. The agreement between you and the designer could be verbal, and many sites have been successfully designed on such a basis. But, in case of a dispute, its better to have something written down, even it's only a letter setting out the basis of the work.

As a last resort, if your domain name ends in .uk, you can use Nominet's Dispute Resolution Service.

So what happened to the organisation with the errant web site? They were unable to reach an accord with the original developers and have now successfully re-established their site on a different server.