Can a former client make me take down links?

[An Artist]

Can a former client make me take down the websites that I designed as links from my website?
Mind you they are re-desinging some of the websites that I designed but one is still up.
Can they stop me from linking to them the sites that I designed>?

This is the email I got:
Please remove references made on your website xxxxxxx.com) to the following proprietary websites:

And here is another question. What do you do if they change their design? Can you still list the older website on my resume?
And can they stop me from putting my older links that are still up on my website?

[RUSHVision]

I've moved this to the Boardroom, which is a more appropriate place for this kind of question.

As for the question itself, you should be able to link to your own work unless it was for some reason specified in the initial agreement that you could not. I don't really understand the entirety of what's going on, but if they change their design then it's no longer your work, right? In those cases I can see where they might take exception to you saying it was. In regard to old designs that no longer have an active home on the net, I would say your only option is to host the site yourself if you want to use it as a portfolio piece.

[An Artist]

Thanks.
I think this former client has an issue with me. I took down the links because I want to be a good guy. I am going to call him and see try to find out why he doesn't want my designed pieces referenced to my website. He did not say don't put them on my resume merely on my website. maybe he doesn't want the search engines to see them with my other links.

If does not take my call then I will simply but the links (the remainder of my designs that is) and simple name it something else besides the URL.

[gerbick]

You can just simply honor their request. I've been asked why I don't link to my past work.

I keep that for a work/presentational portfolio.

[OddDog]

legally, you are allowed to link to anything you link thats in the public domain.

i suspect that they are redesigning and or moving to new domains, and are trying to clean up ...

[An Artist]

A strange occurrence happened to me yesterday. I got an email from an e-card company asking if I can link their website on my web page! I used to make e-cards. But I don't know what company this is. Maybe it's a new incubator company for the e-card business I used to work for.

It's funny how I started this thread with the fact that a former client wanted to me take down their link/name from my links page and then another company comes and asks me to put their website/name to my website links page.

loll

[Napalm]

I normally put up images of the sites I've designed, because linking directly to the site makes you look like bad if they decide to get the janitor to redesign the site for doughnuts and a pack of smokes. The second reason is that the option that was chosen is rarely the best one that was presented.

You're well within your rights to put anything you created in you portfolio, unless the contract forbids it, or you have transferred the intellectual property to the firm.

[mneil]

Yeah, Images are good because they don't change. And as mentioned, you don't have to remove the links unless it was specified in the original agreement that you would not link to them.

[gecko2]

I have examples of my own work on my portolio site which are jpgs/flash, and sometimes do include the url if the site is still the same as it was when I worked on it.

But with companies going from one designer/developer to another sometimes the new site doesn't come up to standard and it doesn't look good if you're linking to what is now a poor site.

So I came up with an ingenious idea of stating on my portfolio page that visitors can view my own work using the green links on each project page, with blue link urls where appropriate for live sites. However I state that I cannot take credit for broken websites, un-validating code or sub-standard graphics. Just keep an eye on any urls on your portfolio and get ready to erase a url if somebody else messes up the site.