Newsroom

Excerpt:
The following is from the Oct. 10, 2007, edition of The Dallas Morning News. Peter Vogel, who teaches law of electronic commerce in SMU's Dedman School of Law, was the primary source for this story.

E-mail disclaimer doesn't do the job

Cheryl Hall
Business Columnist
The Dallas Morning News

Do you protect your e-mails with a disclaimer at the bottom stating that your messages contain confidential information meant only for the intended recipient?

Those disclaimers usually threaten – nicely, of course – that to spread any of the information is "prohibited" and "may be unlawful."

Well, think again, warns Peter Vogel, a partner with Gardere Wynne Sewell LLP who teaches Internet law. Slapping disclaimers on every e-mail may dilute their legal effectiveness.

"The prophylactic view of the world is that if you put a disclaimer on everything, then when you actually need it, it's there," says Mr. Vogel, who teaches law of electronic commerce at Southern Methodist University's Dedman School of Law. "Actually, the opposite is true. If you put it on everything, what you're really saying is nothing is important or protected."

Read the full story.

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