GUILT BY ASSOCIATION.(licensing troubles caused by hypertext links)(Brief Article)

Hypertext links, connections to other Web pages on the Internet, are common and encouraged. Some argue that since these links are an inherent part of the Internet, anyone choosing to operate a Web site gives an "implied license" for others to link to it, unless a disclaimer of such a license appears on the site.

Problems occur with the use of deep links -- Which take viewers to portions of a Web site below the identifying information. These links can be more misleading and controversial.

When a Microsoft city-guide Web site linked to portions of Ticketmaster's ticket site, bypassing the ticket seller's home page (and its advertising), Ticketmaster cried foul. …