Authorship and ownership issues: intellectual property rights
Intellectual property rights are there to provide broad protection for creators. They come in a number of forms such as Trademarks, Patents (for inventors) and copyright. Patents are a paid for registered right that gives the owner the exclusive right to use or manufacture the patented item, Trade Mark (IP rights) protect Logos and images whereas copyright is automatically assigned to the creators of original literary and artistic works.
Data Protection Act and GDPR
The Data Protection Act and GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) both cover the storage and usage of information, governing how information must be stored, how it may be used and how it is collected maintained and deleted. Enforced by the ICO (Information Commissioners Office) misuse of data can result in very hefty fines. The 2018 Data Breach of British Airways where the details of 400,000 customers were hacked resulted in a £20M fine.
GDPR has had a significant impact on web design resulting in a new design concept - Privacy by Design. This concept states ' that any digital product collecting or using private data must implement strict privacy measures as part of the website design and development process.'
Obscene Publications Act
The Obscene Publications Act made most famous by the 1960 R vs Penguin Books Ltd trial has generally been on the decline partially due to the rise of the internet and the use of other statute.
In 1996 562 cases were brought on the act however by 2003 this had declined to 39. One such case 2002's R v Stephane Laurent Perrin [2002] under appeal was an attempt to clarify whether the content of a web page were capable of being prosecuted under the Obscene Publication Act 1959
The appeal judge found that the creation of a website was akin to publication under the act, however it is quite likely that the act which was not drafted with the Internet in mind would be unwieldy to amend and any prosecutions brought would use other statute in the first instance.
Defamation - Libel and slander
Defamation is when a person or organisation uses language to ruin the reputation of a person or business. Slander specifically relates to spoken defamation, whilst libel covers anything published or broadcast
Under UK Law businesses and individuals must prove that they have been substantially harmed by the defamation and the maker of the statement has a number of defences available to them - for example that the claim is substantially true, that it is an honest opinion (based in fact), that it was made in 'privileged' circumstances (speech in Parliament) or that the publisher reasonably thought publication was in the public interest.
Vardy v Rooney [2020] is a good recent example of how libel law can be applied to websites with the initial claims published by both instagram and twitter
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-57728818
Equality Act 2010: Accessibility
Under the Equality Act 2010 a website is classified as a service and as such reasonable adjustments must be made to ensure that disabled people are not treated unfavourably because of their disability. Good website design should provide accessibility for disabled and for both public and private companies this is not just a nice thing to have but is a legal requirement under the act. Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) exist which good website design should refer to.
Computer Misuse Act
The 1990 Computer misuse act was introduced after a failure to prosecute hackers of BTs nascent email system. Although the act itself has been ammended three times (1998, 2005 and 2008) it is still somewhat out of step with current issues facing the digital media industry. The act focuses itself on three areas
Unauthorised access to computer material.
Unauthorised access with intent to commit or facilitate commission of further offences.
Unauthorised acts with intent to impair, or with recklessness as to impairing, operation of computer.
Contracts
Contractual law is very important when it comes to providing digital media design services - it serves to protect both the client and the designer, outlining what services are to be provided, who retains ownership of the content and most importantly covers the fees for any services provided.
Some issues that could potentially cause a legal minefield for a web designer are Representation and client relationships (for example noting conflict of interests, who owns the finished product, contractual issues, ensuring you are qualified to carry out the proposed work etc) and the areas of libel, slander and blasphemy (although the latter is increasingly less relevant under UK law it is still a major consideration in the US and foreign markets).
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