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The Methodist Church of Great Britain | Some Legal Matters

Some Legal Matters

ictCopyright

Don't use any material (text, images, sound, video) on your website without the original author's permission. The law on copyright applies for 70 years after the death of the original author..

This applies to text or images you may find on the internet just as much as printed material. It has sometimes been a misconception that because something is made available on the web it means that it is available for others to use as they wish. This is not so.

Asking permission is often a simple matter of a quick e-mail, and permission is frequently granted.

Data Protection

The law says that a person must have given explicit permission before any personal details can be published on the internet (or anywhere else). They must also understand the implications of having personal details available on the web (for example that anybody can get hold their e-mail address)

Personal details include such things as names, addresses, phone numbers, photographs, e-mail addresses and even photographs of people's houses. It is always wise to get the permission in writing. When taking photographs of an event, carry some copies of brief forms giving consent for a photograph to be used on the website.

Be particularly careful when using photographs of children as special laws apply..
See Safeguarding and the internet .

Accessibilty

Legally, websites must be accessible to everybody, regardless of any disability. People with visual impairment, for example, sometimes use screen readers that electronically 'read' the text on websites aloud. Some website features can cause problems.

This means that here are certain simple steps you need to bear in mind if you are designing your own site. Further information can be found on the website of the Web Accessibility Initiative. www.w3.org/WAI/

Bobby is a free online web accessibility software tool. Just enter your site's web address and see a report that will show where any problems lie on your site.

Linking to other sites

Generally speaking, you don't need to ask permission to link to the homepage of another site, but you do to any other page. Always make clear that a link is to an external site, rather than making someone else's webpage appear as if it belongs to your site.

This page is intended as general guidance only, and should not be relied upon as a definitive statement of the law on any matter.