Washington Post v. Total News, Inc

The case of Washington Post v. Total News offers a prime example of the legal entanglements and ambiguities that inevitably arise when technological advancements create commercial opportunities in a new domain where the rules are at an early stage of development. The particular Web browsing technology that has caused great uncertainty with respect to copyright law is framing. Framing enables a Web page designer to split a page into independent scrollable regions, each capable of displaying a separate and distinct external Web page. Rather than having to leave the screen of one Web page to access another, the framing feature allows a user to display a portion of a separate Web site on the one originally accessed. On June 6, 1997, Total News agreed not to provide framed links to the plaintiffs' Web sites. Because this case was resolved in a settlement agreement rather than a court opinion, the Web community will have to wait for another case for a detailed court analysis on this hot issue. A paper considers whether a Web framing misappropriation claim, as alleged against Total News, is within the scope of federal copyright, and thus preempted, or if it may be adjudicated pursuant to state law.