I’m thinking about building a somewhat satirical web site. On my site, I would include links to web sites with ridiculous content. Problem is, I don’t think some of these businesses would enjoy seeing links to their sites in a “ridiculous” format.
Could they sue? IOW, do I need their permission?
I don’t think so.
There’s a DJ in St. Louis (that used to be a DC DJ) that has lots of links off his site. Some are his guests’ sites, some are just funny sites, while a few are ones he’s poking fun at.
IMO, I think that by putting their site in the public domain, they no longer have a say in who sites them. They may complain if you’re just sampling their graphics, since it’s taking their bandwidth without any gain for them. But as long as you’re calling their main page (where they probably get credit from their advertisers, so they shouldn’t complain), I don’t think you’ve got anything to worry about.
If you’re rich they could well sue, but otherwise… have you seen any of the services which showcase the worst pages on the web?
I don’t imagine anyone has willingly submitted their site (well, alright, maybe some have), but these and other sites are very successful. There are plenty sites out there which openly satirise/mock/otherwise defame genuine companies. I shouldn’t think a couple of links would produce any effect at all.