From: tjc50@juts.ccc.amdahl.com (Terry Carroll)
Newsgroups: misc.legal.computing
Subject: Re: Questions about flames from Internet Users
Date: 22 Jul 92 01:16:01 GMT
Reply-To: tjc50@juts.ccc.amdahl.com (Terry Carroll)
Organization: Amdahl Corporation

In article <1992Jul19.112115.1344@lub001.lamar.edu>, lairdpg@lub001.lamar.edu 
writes:

> A person in one of the Internet Newsgroups thrives on flaming messages.
> When he responds, he does so through E-Mail and not Post.  His article 
contains
> harrassing and incinuating remarks.  I E-mail him back telling him to stick
> it and focus my attention on the fact that he fit the description of the
> original followup I made to some lady getting harrassed by a group of 
people.
> I also asked him *NOT* to send me further E-mail or post concerning this 
issue.
> This person has resorted to making libelous remarks concerning me which are
> untrue and without basis.  I told him if he kept it up, I would post his
> original E-Mail to me and reply publically, which I did.  Now he clms that
> I have violated the "Berne Convention" and his copyright on the E-Mail 
Message
> keeps me from posting it.
> 
> My question, What is the "Berne Convention" and if this guy who apparently
> thrives on flaming messages sends E-mail, addressed to me, shouldn't that be
> considered as prima-facie evidence that he intended for me to have that E-
Mail
> for my perusal?  Please let me know in your opinion if he has any grounds to
> state such facts. 

The Berne Convention is the Berne Convention on For the Protection of 
Literary and Artistic Works, an international treaty on copyright.  All your 
freind is saying is that his email to you was copyrighted, and you are liable 
to him for infringement.

If both of you are US nationals, Berne does not apply; instead US Code Title 
17 does.

In any case, assuming his email is considered an "unpublished work", the most 
he can get from you (per 17 USC 412) is actual damages, that is, the amount 
of dollar damage you caused by your infringement.  Because there's not much 
of a market for flame mail, that should be nil.

As I read Berne and Title 17, the above is true even if he is a non-US 
national.  Berne Article 5 says that nations must treat non-nationals as 
nationals (article 5, section 1).  It does say that enjoyment and exercise of 
rights may not be dependent upon formalities (such as registration) (article 
5, section 2).  However, I don't construe the 17 USC 412 provisions as making 
enjoyment and exercise of the right dependent on the registration: he may 
still sue, but his rmedies are limited.

Needless to say, of course, the above opinion is not legal advice.  It is, at 
best, a statement of the law as I understand it to be.  While I sincerely 
believe that I am correctly interpreting it, any application of the law 
should be made only after consulting a licensed practitioner intimately 
familiar with the specific facts of your circumstance.  I am not a licensed 
practitioner, and am additionaly insufficiently familiar with your 
circumstances to dispense legal advice, even if I were.

Terry Carroll
"Then they came upon The Thing." 
Newsgroups: misc.legal.computing