Web sites differ from conventional media and multimedia in critical respects, and the law in this area is still developing. For this reason, the language of the contract is critical. Law firms need to understand Web site development issues both to address their own business interests and to be able to advise clients intelligently. The following checklist is intended to alert you to a few of the key issues. It does not purport to be exhaustive.
Many developers automatically register the domain name for all sites they design in their own name.
If the developer is also the Web site host, it is a good idea to include in the contract a requirement that the developer make reasonable efforts to cooperate in moving the Web site to a new host if the business commissioning the Web site decides to move it. Many site designers routinely incorporate preexisting content, often from third parties. For example, clip art may be incorporated into an expensive new logo or image map. This can create a problem if the clip art was not licensed for Internet usage. Similar problems can arise with using Java applets and CGI scripts, which are used to add interactive features.