Poster:       Bob Kosovsky <[log in to unmask]>
 
>Perhaps the "tradition of the Internet" has been to widely repost messages.
>But that has little effect on their copyright status.  Having seen a number of
 
Title 17 makes it specific, as I recall, that medium is irrelevant -- a
copyright book is no less copyright for being on a diskette than it is as a
printed work.  And letters are copyright to the authors thereof, which
makes for quite a potential hassle for biographers.  Ergo, I rather suspect
the law would stand behind anyone who claimed that an e-mail message was
copyright to the person who composed / sent it.
 
The "tradition" may be the de facto situation -- and good luck to you
trying to press a breach of copyright suit should someone forward your
e-mail messages without your express permission! -- but I'm positive it's
not de jure.
 
Mario Rups
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