They are usually not researchers. Being expected to vouch for the accuracy of retrieved information leaves us open to suit for errors over which we have no control. Halvorson suggested that we disclaim this responsibility at the time of contracting for information services with each client. One wonders where this leaves information professionals in public or academic libraries, who are accustomed to finding information without first signing a contract with the user. Another potential pitfall Halvorson noted was the question of where a case will be tried if a contract goes awry in cyberspace.
Venue is difficult to predict, making a long-distance defense a problem.
Further, differing intellectual property agreements for each database on an online information service can make legally copied information in one database illegally copied in another. When using Web search engines and sources, Halvorson said, be aware that it is difficult to determine the actual date of the information found on a Web page. For Webmasters, creating a Web site that frames someone else's content and represents it, perhaps unintentionally, as their own has been ruled illegal. Similarly, linking or deep linking to a page that bypasses a home page on a site may be illegal if it impinges on the revenue that the site might have earned had the user gone through the home page first. Halvorson's session was accompanied by a detailed document that explains these and many more potential legal problems concerning information delivery.