Intel can't block ex-worker's e-mail
Source: CNet News
Setting a new precedent in Internet law, the California Supreme court ruled Monday that an ex-Intel worker did not trespass on company computer systems when he e-mailed thousands of messages critical of his former employer to staffers at work.
The 4-3 decision hands Ken Hamidi a victory in his six-year dispute with the Santa Clara, Calif.-based chip giant and generally curtails the ability of employers to police their e-mail systems.
Legal experts said the decision could have wide-reaching effects on a growing number of cases that rely on California's "trespass to chattels" law to prohibit people from unauthorized use of computer systems.
"This is clearly one of the most important cyberlaw decisions of the year, if not the decade, because it is removing what could have been a serious impediment to the free flow of information on the Internet," said Dave Kramer, partner at the law firm Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati. "For those looking for ways to prevent Internet abuse, this decision will not be welcome because it limits one of the weapons available to combat it."
The doctrine of trespass to chattels states that one may not use the property of another in such a way as to harm that property or interfere with the owners' use and enjoyment of it. The theory has been used to attack junk e-mailers who take over computer systems to deliver spam as well as data "scrapers" who pull information such as product prices from Web sites.
The court said its ruling is narrow and should not be applied directly to spam-related cases. Nevertheless, the case raises the bar for companies seeking to block unauthorized use of their computers, saying that plaintiffs must prove harm or damage to the property, which can be more difficult than simply showing abuse in the use of that property.
