Real law in a virtual world: legal issues to consider when taking your company on the Web.

Now that the Internet has gone commercial, legislatures and lawyers across the country have been debating about how to protect intellectual property rights. In the beginning, when the Net was used primarily for academic pursuits its culture encouraged the sharing of information within its digital realm. Now that corporations have staked their claim, there's a growing movement to restrict the ability of individuals to copy and transmit proprietary information.

After all, many corporations have spent millions to establish their trademarks around the world and don't want their images transmitted without their approval. Those who post information, art, photographs, etc., have a similar claim to be notified or compensated for the use of the fruits of their labor-digital or otherwise.

To address these and other copy-right issues, the Working Group on Intellectual Property Rights, appointed by President Clinton, issued a report in September 1995, "Intellectual Property and the National Information Infrastructure," which recommended that amendments to existing copyright laws address the newest developments in information technology.

The report, known as "The White Paper," proposed four major changes. (1) Extend the Copyright Act so that an author's exclusive right to distribute their work includes digital transmission of the work. Storage of a copyrighted work without the writer's permission would violate copyright law. (2) Make illegal the use of any product or device designed to circumvent the technological protection of an author's work. (3) Design laws to punish those who knowingly alter or disseminate false copyright management information. (4) And amend the Copyright Act to improve access to the Net for the visually-impaired while expanding exemptions benefiting libraries.

Though these are only proposals, they shed light on the government's possible direction regarding the free distribution of information on the Net. Sooner or later, the Web might not be so footloose and fancy-free after all. For more information: www.uspto.gov/ web/ipnii. Although the future of cyber-law is unclear, businesses and individuals should take precautions to protect their interests.

Attorney Stuart Smith of Gordon & Glickson, a Chicago law firm that specializes in information technology issues, offers some guidelines that businesses should follow when putting information on the Web:

Include copyright and trademark notices on all pages containing trademarks and copyrighted material so that they will appear on all printed pages.

Avoid tacit consent to the copying of information. Include a link on all pages to a detailed copyright notice with a description of what users can, and cannot, do.

Obtain express written consent from authors to publish their material on the Internet.

Place disclaimers on all pages containing links to other sites to ensure that no warranties or endorsements are made with respect to a site that isn't yours.