Publishing company Haymarket Interactive Limited has threatened
legal proceedings against Burmah Castrol for the unauthorised
framing of WhatCar.com and AutoSport.com within a Castrol web site,
Complete-Motoring.com.
Framing allows a web site to be displayed in a smaller window on
another web site. When a site is framed within another, its URL or
domain name is not displayed. Instead, the URL from the originally
accessed site is visible. The window containing the framed site is
bordered by as much of the originally accessed site’s branding as
it chooses to display. Furthermore, users are not able to bookmark
the target site, as the bookmark will save the URL of the framing
site.
Bill Murray, Managing Director of Haymarket Interactive, today
told OUT-LAW.COM that his lawyers have written to Burmah Castrol
demanding firstly that the framing stops immediately because it
constitutes passing off and copyright infringement, and secondly
that the company pays Haymarket damages in respect of lost content
revenue.
Mr Murray said:
“We are delighted for people to use our
content. But if they want to do so, it’s only reasonable that they
should pay for it. Complete-Motoring.com was framing our content
without our permission or knowledge for at least six weeks that we
know about, but our lawyers suggest that this could have been going
on for years.”
He added that Castrol have indicated that they will comply with
the demand to stop framing the Haymarket sites. However, Mr Murray
said that they might still pursue a claim for damages if Castrol
fails to pay for the content used to date. “We didn’t enter into
this lightly,” he added.
Although there has been no reported decision on this point in
Europe, it is feasible that if someone frames a web site without
the consent of the web site owner then that person may be liable
for copyright infringement by publishing the work. It could also be
argued that the framing site is passing itself off as being
associated with the framed site which is a separate legal wrong. It
also raises questions of trade mark infringement.
While framing has not been tested in the European courts, it is
only sensible to frame another site if permission has been given by
the site’s owner. In the US, there have been cases on framing but
they have provided little guidance.
