Legal Question in Intellectual Property in Colorado
Can sender require an email stay private?
I make a statement that I have banned someone from an internet group for
''unprofessional conduct''. nothing more, nothing less
Banned member alleges defamation for ''unprofessional'' statement & emails
me simple cease & desist - which I share with the group.
Then she sends me a revised version that contains this:
___ is not authorized to forward this or any other email, a private and
confidential document, to any other parties and/or forum. Doing so will
result in legal ramifications. Any form of ___ allowing, accepting, or assisting
in others to do so will result in the same. Including the original form of this
notification. Any messages containing all or part of these notifications
written by others and allowed to any forum under control of ___ is included.
Given fact that many persons have already received this private document
through ME doing, there will be damages assessed for each member of ___
group.
1. Can C&D's be emailed?
2. Does she have the right to limit who I show this email to?
3. Give me a fun way to deal with this crazy chick. :)
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Can sender require an email stay private?
How much "fun" can you afford?
You are clearly in a position to engage counsel to transmit a position/cease and desist letter of your own.
Any notice or legal communication (other than a Summons and Complaint or Subpoena) can be e-mailed, FAXed, snail-mailed, pigeon mailed or hand delivered.
You may have an action for defamation, depending on the nature of the response of this individual.
Feel free to call or e-mail for further assistance.
I presume the group has TOS or other rules governing participation.
Re: Can sender require an email stay private?
As long as you can prove the "unprofessional conduct," or better yet, if your TOS actually defines what that term means and the individual in question clearly violated that, there is no defamation. I also assume the TOS provide that any correspondence to the site becomes the property of the site. Even if not, there is no special privilege attaching to the letter that would give the sender a right to sue her for disseminating it.
As to whether C&D's can be emailed, the answer is yes, provided the sender can prove that the party to whom it was sent actually received it. Finally, as to what you can do to have fun with it, it depends on what your idea of fun is. Feel free to contact us if you wish to pursue this further.
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