Surface links and deep links
The terms surface link and deep link (German literally "surface link " and "deep link" ) are used to categorize hyperlinks : A surface link refers to the entry page of a website , a deep link , on the other hand, refers directly to a very specific, "deeper link " “Subpage of an Internet presence or web-based application . This can be a specific file , a single article, or an open directory .
The reason for this distinction is the legal discussion around questions of liability for hyperlinks . In this respect, the evaluation of the use of surface links is less legally controversial than the use of deep links . A case in which a Surface Link would be illegal, but a Deep Link to the same website would be legally compliant, seems difficult to imagine. This article is therefore limited to the specific aspects of using deep links .
Both terms are related to the terms Surface Web and Deep Web .
general description
The use of deep links is controversial because by Hotlinking individual websites or media (such as photos) via deep link can be leached out of a job. If there is no reference to the overall offer on such a detached page (or a medium linked in this way), malicious users may possibly pass the information contained there as their own.
When using search engines , it should be noted that they usually refer directly to the corresponding sub-pages of an offer in which the selected search words are contained in the page content or meta elements . If the corresponding page uses frames , parts of the design concept including navigation elements and additional information such as imprint , copyright notices or advertising may be lost. To avoid this, JavaScript is often used in web design to restore the correct full page view from the loaded page. However, many experts warn against the use of frames because of this problem .
A session ID is used by many websites to completely prevent deep linking .
Legal situation
In the Paperboy ruling of July 17, 2003, the Federal Court of Justice ruled that the setting of deep links is lawful. It neither violates copyright regulations nor is it anti-competitive . In particular, the unfair exploitation of provider services through the setting of deep links was denied. However, the BGH has expressly left open the question of whether linking while circumventing technical protective measures (including the exact meaning of this term) is illegal.
On February 13, 2014, the ECJ ruled in a similar way in the Svensson case (Ref. Case C-466/12).
In a ruling by the Federal Court of Justice on November 10, 2010, circumventing measures to restrict access, such as session IDs , was rated as a copyright infringement.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Paperboy decision of the BGH on the admissibility of deep links Az. I ZR 259/00 - BGHZ 156, 1
- ↑ heise online: BGH: Linking can violate copyrights. Retrieved September 20, 2017 .
Web links
- Jakob Nielsen: Deep Linking is Good Linking (engl.)
- Thomas Stadler: The admissibility of so-called deep links in: JurPC
- Deep-Link judgment: “Finally legal security” ( Memento from August 1, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) - Interview of the Netzeitung with the operator of Newsclub.de
