Intel loses e-mail trespass lawsuit
Advertiser News Services
SAN FRANCISCO — In a ruling testing the bounds of free speech in cyberspace, California's highest court ruled yesterday that a fired Intel Corp. employee did not trespass on the company's e-mail servers when he inundated its employees with electronic complaints.
Intel, the world's biggest chipmaker, sued engineer Ken Hamidi in 1998, claiming he trespassed on its property by sending up to 35,000 e-mails to employees criticizing the company's employment practices. In a 4-3 ruling, the California Supreme Court in San Francisco overturned an appeals court decision that stopped Hamidi from sending unsolicited e-mails to Intel.
"He no more invaded Intel's property than does a protester holding a sign or shouting through a bullhorn outside corporate headquarters, posting a letter through the mail, or telephoning to complain of a corporate practice," wrote Justice Kathryn Werdegar in the majority opinion.
Chuck Mulloy, a spokesman for Intel said the company is reviewing the decision "in the event that Mr. Hamidi resumes spamming Intel."
The ruling may hobble businesses seeking a court order to stop people from sending unwanted commercial e-mails. A Ferris Research study said so-called spam messages may cost U.S. companies and other organizations $10 billion this year. Forty-five percent of all e-mail this year will be spam, according to Radicati Group.
Hamidi's attorney, William McSwain, said his client's e-mails were "minuscule" in quantity and that the ruling doesn't "leave anyone powerless against spam."
The majority left open the possibility that Intel could stop Hamidi by proving he had damaged its computer system.
Hamidi's e-mails urged workers to change the company's employment practices by joining a group called FACE Intel or Former and Current Employees of Intel.
The majority said Hamidi's e-mails prompted discussions among employees and didn't damage the company's property.
Justice Janice Brown, in a dissent, said the majority "misses the point."
"Intel's objection is directed not toward Hamidi's message but his use of Intel's property to display his message," Brown wrote.
