Does an email recipient have a right to "publish" and/or "make public", the contents of that email, providing

Question

Does an email recipient have a right to "publish" and/or "make public", the contents of that email, providing they protect the privacy of the sender (i.e., block username, email address, real name)?
I am curious if it is "ok" to, for instance, publish on to my public blog, a portion of an email I received from another private party (not a corporation or such). I intend to remove ANY identifying info about the author. It is solely the content of the email I want to push to my blog.
Is this legal? Or do email composers own the Intellectual Property of the emails they send? Please let me know whether or not you are an attorney. Thanks

Please, if you are not an attorney, let me know WHERE you got your information. I've worked in the internet space for 10 years now, so I have heard a lot of "opinion" on the subject. I would like some facts. Thank you for taking the time to answer my query!

Just to clarify, I am not intending to "plagiarize"... it would be clear from the context that this was an email sent to me from someone... not a piece of prose I am ripping off. I would say, "check out this email someone sent me"...

Answer 1

The links below are a few law places with opinions about publishing a private e-mail. It recommends a statement such as "Email sent to this address may be published or made public," etc. The copyright of the e-mail is owned by the sender or the sender's service provider (if sent from work).

Answer 2

I am not a lawyer, but you have opened a can of worms with this question. I would say if you are quoted and a reference is made giving you credit for saying it that would be OK ... unless the material was copyrighted. However, there are moral and ethical boundaries that many people would ignore, but because the material was not copyright gives you little legal recourse. For example, if the email was sent to a colleage or a friend and was in turn published without your consent, that seems very inappropriate. The problem with anything on the internet is that it is prime game and easy to re-publish the beauty and the downside of the internet.

Answer 3

That depends. The sender of the e-mail has the presumptive right to any IP (Intellectual Property) rights to the contents of the e-mail unless they explicitly surrender those rights. If they can prove that you published their IP, you would be open to suit for misuse of their IP.

Even if the owner of the IP posted it in a public forum, nobody has the right to re-publish the information without the express permission of the owner.

The Fair Use Doctrine does give others limited rights to re-publish the information absent explicit permission but this can be a thorny area of law. For example, a move critic would have the right to re-publish parts of the screenplay as part of their review of the movie. Or a comic would have the right to assail the IP in parody and anyone could publish a rebuttal to the IP as long as the re-publishing was limited to the issues in rebuttal. If you are considering a Fair Use position you would be well advised to consult with an attorney who specializes in IP issues first.

Answer 4

Unless the content is copyrighted you can "publish" it.... if it was sent to your Blog (depending on how it is set up) you may even be able to include the whole thing including the senders email add. However in this litigious age, caution is the better part of valor.

Answer 5

You are on shakier ground publishing the content WITHOUT identifying the source than publishing the entire e-mail INCLUDING the senders identity. I don't have a clue what your actually rights are, but I know quoting a source is better than presenting their words as if they are yours.

Answer 6

Uswusally a person will put a disclaimer ont e bottom of an email, otherwise it is free game...not an attorney but just smart.