🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <Bx66D9.BFF@ibmpcug.co.uk> gtoal@ibmpcug.co.uk (Graham Toal) writes:

   Now now Mathew, you're <plonking> again.  In British law at least as it
   applies to paper mail, the letters belong to the recipient as *many*
   court cases have consistently attested (usually when the love-letters
   of famous authors are published by the recipients in their dotage).

As I understand U.S. law, letters are also the property of the person
who received them.  However, the author still holds the copyright,
just as for any other creative work.  In the U.S., the person who
received the letter may thus make copies for personal use only.
Publishing the letter would be a violation of copyright law, and
potentially grounds for a lawsuit.

Extended to e-mail, this is the basis for the convention that one
seeks permission before posting or forwarding a letter.  Whether the
extension to e-mail has been tested in court, I do not know.  Also,
having not read any British law, I have no idea whether copyright law
exempts letters in your country.

Regards, Ed
-- 
Ed McGuire                   1603 LBJ Freeway, Suite 780
Systems Administrator/       Dallas, Texas 75234
 Member of Technical Staff   214/620-2100, FAX 214/484-8110
Intellection, Inc.           <ed@intellection.com>