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Website Legal Audit

A website legal audit is a comprehensive procedure aimed at ensuring a website's compliance with various legal requirements. Even a small one-page website is a complex system consisting of different interconnected elements – design, content, user interaction forms, and other components. Therefore, there is no single method to check the "whole" website; each group of elements is checked separately.

Why is a Website Audit Needed?

A website audit helps protect business interests in various situations:

When buying/selling a business: A legal website audit can reduce risks related to claims or demands from third parties and regulatory bodies. Both the seller and the buyer can be confident in the reliability of the transaction.
When creating collaborations with other companies/websites: While entering into partnership or advertising agreements.
At any time: If you want to ensure the website's reliability and minimize the risk of liability for non-compliance with website requirements.

What Does the Audit Include?

A legal audit is a comprehensive check. Below are the key points to check during a legal audit. The provided recommendations are general and do not consider the specifics of a particular company's activities.

1. Ownership of Rights to the Website's Domain Name:

The domain is essentially the "name of the website" – its unique address. If the website was created by a contractor-developer, they typically own the domain rights. To transfer these rights, appropriate provisions must be included in the contract for the website's creation or a supplementary agreement must be signed.
If the website was created by a company employee, the rights generally transfer to the company, but there are nuances.
Using a domain owned by another person requires caution as the domain can be blocked.

2. Ownership of Alternative (Similar) Domain Names:

Usually, only one domain name is registered for a website, e.g., urist.ru. However, alternative (similar) domain names also exist – urist.com, urist.org, urist.group, etc. Unethical companies might use similar domain names for competing activities, often without the main domain owner's knowledge.

3. Ownership of Trademarks and Service Marks:

A legal website audit checks for the registration of trademarks or service marks. Often, the domain name and trademark are interconnected – e.g., the domain urist.ru and the trademark urist – the name and logo of the website are registered as a trademark. Having a registered trademark that matches the website name and domain increases the protection of intellectual property.

4. Content Analysis for Copyright Compliance:

Website content consists of various elements – images, texts, videos, etc. Each element is an object of copyright. It is crucial to remember that even if content is publicly available (e.g., an image on a website), it does not mean it can be simply copied onto your website. To minimize the risk of claims from rights holders, it is recommended to use only original content. If using only original content is not possible, use services that provide content for free use (including for commercial purposes) – photo stocks, video stocks.

5. Content Analysis for Advertising Law Compliance:

Advertising is any information aimed at attracting attention to the advertised object and available to an indefinite number of people. If your website contains advertising, it must comply with the requirements established by the Federal Law "On Advertising". The requirements are numerous and cover both the visual perception of the advertising and its content. Moreover, amendments to the Federal Law "On Advertising" concerning online advertising came into effect on September 1, 2022.

6. Content Analysis for Compliance with Special Requirements for Specific Activities:

Special requirements for website content are established for certain activities – e.g., for media and organizations conducting remote sales of goods (online stores).

7. Content Analysis for Compliance with Personal Data Protection Legislation:

If the website has forms for collecting user data (e.g., registration forms or contact forms), it must comply with the Federal Law "On Personal Data". The company processing user personal data must be included in the register of personal data operators by Roskomnadzor. The website must publish a personal data processing policy and terms of use. Additionally, users must consent to the collection and processing of their personal data. If the website uses cookies, users must be informed and consent to their use.

8. Website Analysis for Prohibited Content:

Certain materials cannot be published on the Internet. For example, advertising products banned in Russia, products requiring certification without proper certification, advertising alcohol and tobacco products is prohibited.

Results of the Legal Website Audit

Written Report: Identifying "weak spots" on the website and ways to address them. The written report is a simple and clear guide containing specific steps to bring the website into compliance with legal norms.
Consultation: Specialist consultation from Usconsult following the audit.

Cost of a Legal Website Audit

The cost is determined individually and depends on the website's volume. The starting cost for a legal website audit is 25,000 rubles.

Why Choose Usconsult?

There are several reasons:

Individual Approach to Each Client: We do not have standard cases; we develop a unique strategy for each case.
Expertise in Numbers: Combining our legal knowledge with economic expertise helps us manage cases with maximum benefit for each client.
Comprehensive Knowledge: Our lawyers delve into both the legal and technical aspects of each new case. Whether it is construction, design, land surveying, or tax calculations – we are experts in any field.