Legal Question in Technology Law in California
e-mail and document theft
I have a business competitor based locally who has purchased a domain name formally in use by my company (dot net) . There are several of my former employees working for this competitor and I suspect they are receiving e-mail from my customers. Most e-mails I receive have attachments that are defense related, ITAR and export forbidden and contain files that are proprietary. I also have signed Non Disclosure aggreements in place with all of my customers. I should point out that my compnay still uses the same domain name, except we now use dot com in lieu of .net. I sent an e-mail to my old e-mail address with the .net extension and it was not returned.
Is my competitor breaking any laws ? Can I take legal action against them ?
3 Answers from Attorneys
Re: e-mail and document theft
You may have the basis for claims under state and federal law, but you MUST consult an attorney on the matter to evaluate and advise you.
Re: e-mail and document theft
You can sue for unfair competition, etc., and file for a domain name arbitration to get your domain back, but your position would be stronger if you had your business name registered as a trademark.
Re: e-mail and document theft
Mr. Stone is correct. There are various ways of dealing with this type of situation. They include civil litigation where the defendant is located and a UDRP. I'll point out that you are in this mess because you don't have an attorney advising you. That is what you need to correct first. I serve as outside general counsel for many online companies simply to help them avoid these types of situations.
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