Shetland Times v. Wills was one of the first court cases anywhere about whether simply linking to another website’s pages can be illegal. In 1996, a small newspaper in Scotland’s Shetland Islands won a court order against a rival news site that linked straight to its stories using the newspaper’s own headlines. The case drew attention around the world because it seemed to put the basic act of linking at risk.
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What Happened
The Shetland Times is the local newspaper of the Shetland Islands, north of mainland Scotland. In 1996 it began putting its stories on its own website. Jonathan Wills, a former editor of the paper, ran a competing online service called the Shetland News.
The Shetland News began listing the Times’ headlines on its own site. Each headline was a link that took readers directly to the full story on the Times’ website, skipping the Times’ front page. The Times objected. It said readers were bypassing the front page where it hoped to sell advertising, and that the whole point of its site was for readers to reach its stories through that front page.
What the Court Decided
The Times sued for copyright infringement in the Court of Session in Edinburgh, Scotland’s supreme civil court. It argued that its headlines were protected writing, and that by reproducing them as links the Shetland News was copying them and, in effect, rebroadcasting the Times’ material.
In October 1996, Lord Hamilton granted the Times an interim interdict, the Scottish version of a temporary injunction, ordering the Shetland News to stop. He did not issue a final ruling. He found only that the Times had a strong enough argument to keep the links down until a full trial.
There never was a trial. In November 1997, the two sides settled. The Shetland News was allowed to keep linking to Times stories, but each link had to carry the label “A Shetland Times Story” and a button with the paper’s logo, both linking to the Times’ own headlines page. Neither side paid damages.
Why It Mattered
Because the case ended at an early stage, it never produced a final answer about whether linking is copying. But it was among the first times a court had stepped in to stop links between websites, and it alarmed people who saw linking as the foundation of the web. It was followed by other fights over “deep links” and “framing,” including cases brought by The Washington Post against TotalNews and by Ticketmaster against Microsoft.
Over time, courts in the United States and Europe mostly concluded that simply linking to material that is already freely and lawfully available online is not copyright infringement. The settlement’s solution, clearly identifying whose content a link leads to, resembles how news links are commonly handled today.
The Fight for Attention Online
At its heart, the Shetland Times case was about attention: who gets readers’ clicks, and who gets to sell ads alongside them. Three decades later, that same business model sits at the center of the lawsuits against social media companies. Families claim that Meta, TikTok, Snap and Google designed their apps to hold children’s attention for as long as possible, because more time on the apps means more advertising revenue, despite knowing the harm to young users.
If social media harmed your child, Doyle APC handles these claims together with experienced co-counsel. Learn who may qualify for compensation.
Common Questions
What was Shetland Times v. Wills about?
A Scottish newspaper sued a rival online news service that linked directly to the newspaper’s stories using its headlines. The newspaper claimed the links infringed its copyright.
Who won?
The Shetland Times won a temporary court order in October 1996. The case settled in November 1997 before any trial, with the Shetland News allowed to keep linking as long as each link was clearly labeled as a Shetland Times story.
Is linking to another website illegal?
Generally no. Courts in the United States and Europe have mostly found that linking to material already freely available online is not copyright infringement. The Shetland Times case came before those rulings and never reached a final decision.
What is a deep link?
A link that takes you straight to a page inside another website, such as a specific article, instead of to the site’s home page.
Who runs this site now?
Doyle APC, a San Diego law firm that represents people nationwide in mass tort cases. Doyle APC handles social media addiction claims together with experienced co-counsel. Learn more about the firm.