Re: copyrighting of an email

On 4/25/97 Robert Cumbow <cumbr[_at_]perkinscoie.com> wrote:
>
> David Post <postd[_at_]erols.com> wrote:
> >
> > If the recipient 'owns' a digital 'copy' of the email, where do you
> > derive the distinction in copyright law between (permitted) printing
> > and archiving on the one hand but (not permitted) forwarding? Seems
> > to me that the same rationale would apply to prohibit printing and
> > archiving -- a fairly absurd result, to be sure, but one that this
> > line of analysis drives you towards.
>
> You can do what you want with the digital copy you "own"--including
> print a copy of it and/or retain it in your archives; but you can't
> forward it because "forwarding" in this context doesn't mean giving
> your copy to someone else, it means making and distributing a new copy,
> which is expressly impermissible under copyright law. BTW, I never
> said the analogy between paper mail and email was exact ... it's just
> the only thing we've got to work from right now as far as determining
> how copyright law works with respect to email.

  But isn't 'printing a copy' also 'expressly impermissible' under the copyright law? I'm not suggesting the distinction Bob Cumbow's trying to make doesn't make sense -- I just don't think it is the one the copyright law makes, at least not clearly.

David Post
<postd[_at_]erols.com> Received on Mon Apr 28 1997 - 13:11:34 GMT