Deep linking
Encyclopedia
On the World Wide Web
, deep linking is making a hyperlink
that points to a specific page or image on a website
, instead of that website's main or home page. Such links are called deep links.
article on deep linking, instead of the Wikipedia
home page at http://www.wikipedia.org/.
(HTTP), does not actually make any distinction between "deep" links and any other links—all links are functionally equal. This is intentional; one of the design purposes of the Web is to allow authors to link to any published document on another site. The possibility of so-called "deep" linking is therefore built into the Web technology of HTTP and URL
s by default—while a site can attempt to restrict deep links, to do so requires extra effort. According to the World Wide Web Consortium
Technical Architecture Group, "any attempt to forbid the practice of deep linking is based on a misunderstanding of the technology, and threatens to undermine the functioning of the Web as a whole".
, they charge users for permanently valid links.
Sometimes, deep linking has led to legal action such as in the 1997 case of Ticketmaster
versus Microsoft
, where Microsoft deep-linked to Ticketmaster's site from its Sidewalk service. This case was settled when Microsoft and Ticketmaster arranged a licensing agreement.
Ticketmaster later filed a similar case against Tickets.com
, and the judge in this case ruled that such linking was legal as long as it was clear to whom the linked pages belonged. The court also concluded that URLs themselves were not copyrightable, writing: "A URL is simply an address, open to the public, like the street address of a building, which, if known, can enable the user to reach the building. There is nothing sufficiently original to make the URL a copyrightable item, especially the way it is used. There appear to be no cases holding the URLs to be subject to copyright. On principle, they should not be."
and AJAX
often do not support deep linking. This can result in usability problems for people visiting such websites. For example, visitors to these websites may be unable to save bookmarks to individual pages or states of the site, web browser forward and back buttons may not work as expected, and use of the browser's refresh button may return the user to the initial page.
However, this is not a fundamental limitation of these technologies. Well-known techniques, and libraries such as SWFAddress
and History Keeper, now exist that website creators using Flash or AJAX can use to provide deep linking to pages within their sites.
case of The Shetland Times
vs The Shetland News
where the Times accused the News of appropriating stories on the Times' website as its own.
In the beginning of 2006 in a case between the search engine Bixee.com
and job site Naukri.com, the Delhi High Court
in India
prohibited Bixee.com from deeplinking to Naukri.com.
In December 2006, a Texas court ruled that linking by a motocross
website to videos on a Texas-based motocross video production website did not constitute fair use. The court subsequently issued an injunction. This case, SFX Motor Sports Inc., v. Davis, was not published in official reports, but is available at 2006 WL 3616983.
In a February 2006 ruling, the Danish
Maritime and Commercial Court (Copenhagen
) found systematic crawling
, indexing and deeplinking by portal site ofir.dk of real estate site Home.dk not to conflict with Danish law or the database directive of the European Union
. The Court even stated that search engines are desirable for the functioning of the Internet of today. And that one, when publishing information on the Internet, must assume—and accept—that search engines deep link to individual pages of one's website.
(
World Wide Web
The World Wide Web is a system of interlinked hypertext documents accessed via the Internet...
, deep linking is making a hyperlink
Hyperlink
In computing, a hyperlink is a reference to data that the reader can directly follow, or that is followed automatically. A hyperlink points to a whole document or to a specific element within a document. Hypertext is text with hyperlinks...
that points to a specific page or image on a website
Website
A website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...
, instead of that website's main or home page. Such links are called deep links.
Example
This link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_linking is an example of a deep link. The URL contains all the information needed to point to a particular item, in this case the English WikipediaEnglish Wikipedia
The English Wikipedia is the English-language edition of the free online encyclopedia Wikipedia. Founded on 15 January 2001 and reaching three million articles by August 2009, it was the first edition of Wikipedia and remains the largest, with almost three times as many articles as the next...
article on deep linking, instead of the Wikipedia
Wikipedia
Wikipedia is a free, web-based, collaborative, multilingual encyclopedia project supported by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation. Its 20 million articles have been written collaboratively by volunteers around the world. Almost all of its articles can be edited by anyone with access to the site,...
home page at http://www.wikipedia.org/.
Deep linking and HTTP
The technology behind the World Wide Web, the Hypertext Transfer ProtocolHypertext Transfer Protocol
The Hypertext Transfer Protocol is a networking protocol for distributed, collaborative, hypermedia information systems. HTTP is the foundation of data communication for the World Wide Web....
(HTTP), does not actually make any distinction between "deep" links and any other links—all links are functionally equal. This is intentional; one of the design purposes of the Web is to allow authors to link to any published document on another site. The possibility of so-called "deep" linking is therefore built into the Web technology of HTTP and URL
Uniform Resource Locator
In computing, a uniform resource locator or universal resource locator is a specific character string that constitutes a reference to an Internet resource....
s by default—while a site can attempt to restrict deep links, to do so requires extra effort. According to the World Wide Web Consortium
World Wide Web Consortium
The World Wide Web Consortium is the main international standards organization for the World Wide Web .Founded and headed by Tim Berners-Lee, the consortium is made up of member organizations which maintain full-time staff for the purpose of working together in the development of standards for the...
Technical Architecture Group, "any attempt to forbid the practice of deep linking is based on a misunderstanding of the technology, and threatens to undermine the functioning of the Web as a whole".
Usage
Some commercial websites object to other sites making deep links into their content either because it bypasses advertising on their main pages, passes off their content as that of the linker or, like The Wall Street JournalThe Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
, they charge users for permanently valid links.
Sometimes, deep linking has led to legal action such as in the 1997 case of Ticketmaster
Ticketmaster
Ticketmaster Entertainment, Inc. is an independent American ticket sales and distribution company based in West Hollywood, California, USA, with operations in many countries around the world. In 2010 it merged with Live Nation to become Live Nation Entertainment...
versus Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
, where Microsoft deep-linked to Ticketmaster's site from its Sidewalk service. This case was settled when Microsoft and Ticketmaster arranged a licensing agreement.
Ticketmaster later filed a similar case against Tickets.com
Tickets.com
Tickets.com is a Costa Mesa, California-based global ticketing company. The company is owned by Major League Baseball Advanced Media, the interactive media and Internet division of Major League Baseball, and currently handles sales of tickets for 15 major league teams...
, and the judge in this case ruled that such linking was legal as long as it was clear to whom the linked pages belonged. The court also concluded that URLs themselves were not copyrightable, writing: "A URL is simply an address, open to the public, like the street address of a building, which, if known, can enable the user to reach the building. There is nothing sufficiently original to make the URL a copyrightable item, especially the way it is used. There appear to be no cases holding the URLs to be subject to copyright. On principle, they should not be."
Deep linking and web technologies
Websites which are built on web technologies such as Adobe FlashAdobe Flash
Adobe Flash is a multimedia platform used to add animation, video, and interactivity to web pages. Flash is frequently used for advertisements, games and flash animations for broadcast...
and AJAX
Ajax
- Mythology :* Ajax , son of Telamon, ruler of Salamis and a hero in the Trojan War, also known as "Ajax the Great"* Ajax the Lesser, son of Oileus, ruler of Locris and the leader of the Locrian contingent during the Trojan War.- People :...
often do not support deep linking. This can result in usability problems for people visiting such websites. For example, visitors to these websites may be unable to save bookmarks to individual pages or states of the site, web browser forward and back buttons may not work as expected, and use of the browser's refresh button may return the user to the initial page.
However, this is not a fundamental limitation of these technologies. Well-known techniques, and libraries such as SWFAddress
SWFAddress
SWFAddress is an open-source JavaScript library that enables Adobe Flash/Flex and JavaScript/AJAX websites and web applications to support deep linking, a practice that enables users to link to a specific section or page of the content....
and History Keeper, now exist that website creators using Flash or AJAX can use to provide deep linking to pages within their sites.
Court rulings
Probably the earliest legal case arising out of deep-linking was the 1996 ScottishScotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
case of The Shetland Times
The Shetland Times
The Shetland Times is a weekly newspaper in Shetland, published on Fridays and based in Lerwick, Shetland, Scotland.The newspaper is owned by The Shetland Times Ltd, a company which also operates a publishing arm, a bookshop and a printing company. The Shetland Times Ltd claims to have 55...
vs The Shetland News
The Shetland News
The Shetland News is a news website serving the islands of Shetland, Scotland.Previously, The Shetland News was a weekly newspaper published between 1885 and 1963. The website, published by an unrelated company , was launched in 1995, on the idea of IT entrepreneur Graeme Storey...
where the Times accused the News of appropriating stories on the Times' website as its own.
In the beginning of 2006 in a case between the search engine Bixee.com
Bixee.com
Bixee.com is a job search engine for India, and an example of both vertical search and metasearch. It was launched in late 2005. Bixee was founded by Ruban Phukan and Rajesh Warrier who started the company RHR Networks Private Limited...
and job site Naukri.com, the Delhi High Court
Delhi High Court
The High Court of Delhi was established on 31 October 1966. The High Court of Delhi was established with four judges. They were Chief Justice K. S. Hegde, Justice I. D. Dua, Justice H. R. Khanna and Justice S. K. Kapur.-History:...
in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
prohibited Bixee.com from deeplinking to Naukri.com.
In December 2006, a Texas court ruled that linking by a motocross
Motocross
Motocross is a form of motorcycle sport or all-terrain vehicle racing held on enclosed off road circuits. It evolved from trials, and was called scrambles, and later motocross, combining the French moto with cross-country...
website to videos on a Texas-based motocross video production website did not constitute fair use. The court subsequently issued an injunction. This case, SFX Motor Sports Inc., v. Davis, was not published in official reports, but is available at 2006 WL 3616983.
In a February 2006 ruling, the Danish
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
Maritime and Commercial Court (Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
) found systematic crawling
Web crawler
A Web crawler is a computer program that browses the World Wide Web in a methodical, automated manner or in an orderly fashion. Other terms for Web crawlers are ants, automatic indexers, bots, Web spiders, Web robots, or—especially in the FOAF community—Web scutters.This process is called Web...
, indexing and deeplinking by portal site ofir.dk of real estate site Home.dk not to conflict with Danish law or the database directive of the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
. The Court even stated that search engines are desirable for the functioning of the Internet of today. And that one, when publishing information on the Internet, must assume—and accept—that search engines deep link to individual pages of one's website.
Opt out
Web site owners wishing to prevent search engines from deep linking are able to use the existing Robots Exclusion StandardRobots Exclusion Standard
The Robot Exclusion Standard, also known as the Robots Exclusion Protocol or robots.txt protocol, is a convention to prevent cooperating web crawlers and other web robots from accessing all or part of a website which is otherwise publicly viewable. Robots are often used by search engines to...
(
/robots.txt file) to specify their desire or otherwise for their content to be indexed. Some feel that content owners who fail to provide a /robots.txt file are implying that they do not object to deep linking either by search engines or others who might link to their content. Others believe that content owners may be unaware of the Robots Exclusion Standard or may not use robots.txt for other reasons. Deep linking is also practiced outside the search engine context, so some participating in this debate question the relevance of the Robots Exclusion Standard to controversies about Deep Linking. The Robots Exclusion Standard does not programmatically enforce its directives so it does not prevent search engines and others who do not follow polite conventions from deep linking.See also
- Copyright aspects of hyperlinking and framingCopyright aspects of hyperlinking and framingIn copyright law, the legal status of hyperlinking and that of framing concern how courts address two different but related web technologies...
- Framing (World Wide Web)Framing (World Wide Web)When using web browsers, the terms frames or frameset refer to the display of two or more web pages or media elements displayed side-by-side within the same browser window...
- Inline linkingInline linkingInline linking is the use of a linked object, often an image, from one site by a web page belonging to a second site...
- Intellectual Reserve v. Utah Lighthouse MinistryIntellectual Reserve v. Utah Lighthouse MinistryIntellectual Reserve v. Utah Lighthouse Ministry was a United States district court decision on the subject of deep linking and contributory infringement of copyright.- Background :...
External links
- Linking Law - Netlitigation's summary and case law archive.
- American Library Association - list of (mostly deep) links to articles about deep linking
- Discussion of the Shetland Times vs Shetland News case, 1996
- Report on the Indian Court Ruling
- Report on Danish Court Ruling
- Cory Doctorow on fan-made radio podcasts: "What deep linking means." from BoingBoing
- Deep Linking is Good Linking - Usability implications of deep links