Tuesday, May 17, 2005

Damn lawyers

I got an email misdirected to me at one of my accounts. Looks like it was supposed to go to someone with a similar name, but different email address. No biggie, it happens now and then. What caught my eye, was at the end of the two-line email was this company-mandated disclaimer (edited for privacy):

DISCLAIMER and CONFIDENTIALITY CAUTION:

This e-mail and any attached files are confidential, proprietary, and may also be legally privileged information, and are intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. If you have received this e-mail in error or you are not the intended recipient, please send it back to the person who sent it to you and delete the e-mail and any attached files and destroy any copies of it;kindly notify us immediately by telephone at + 99 99 9999 9999 or email us at xxx@xxxxxxxx.xxx. We thank you for your co-operation.

Any views or opinions presented in the e-mail and any attached files are solely those of the sender, and do not necessarily represent those of X and/or any of its sister companies, unless the sender mentions so expressly, with due authority of X.

Unauthorized reading, reproduction, publication, use, dissemination,forwarding, printing or copying of this e-mail and its associated attachments is strictly prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, any disclosure, copying, distribution or any action taken or omitted to be taken in reliance on it, is prohibited and may be unlawful.

Communicating through email is not secure and capable of interception, corruption and delays. Anyone communicating with X by email accepts the risks involved and their consequences. We have checked this message for any known viruses, however we decline any liability, expressed or implied, in case of any damage caused by a non-detected virus. The recipient should check this email and any attachments for the presence of viruses and defects.

For further details about our company, visit us at http://www.X.com

For Christ's sake! That's at the end of every email someone at your company sends? I'm not even sure how much legal weight disclaimers like this carry. I mean, you emailed it to me, you've lost the right to control what I do with what you tell me. I love how I'm supposed to call them internationally if they email me by accident. Plus, how I'm supposed to check the email for the presense of "viruses and defects." Viruses I can understand, but "defects?" What, am I supposed to spell-check their email for them?

No comments: