It is a rare company these days that does not allow some form of access to the Internet to their employees.
Employees are the backbone of any business, but sometimes they can cause legal problems for companies arising out of their uninformed use of email and the Internet. These problems can include the illegal copying of third party copyrighted material, downloading or sending racist or obscene material and disclosing company secrets through email transmissions to third parties.
Companies need to educate their employees on the acceptable uses of the Internet and email. Employees need to be advised that an email message is a corporate document that may be discoverable in litigation - something that Microsoft found out the hard way.
Employees also need to be educated as to what information the company considers to be confidential or its trade secrets and be advised that the communication of this information in any form is not permitted. They need to be given information on what copyright is and how it can be infringed.
The company needs to decide whether email is going to be treated as a private means of communication or if it is going to monitor email messages and Internet use.
There are traps awaiting an automatic reaction that it should be private, however. The company might have to open and read email if there are allegations of harassment or theft. The email might contain discoverable material and have to be produced in a court proceeding. In fact, if the company suspects that one of its employees is transmitting company secrets through the use of email, the company will want to be able to prove this by producing a copy of the offending messages.
When you use the Internet and email as part of everyday life in your company, think of this:
Disclaimer: This Newsletter is intended to provide readers with general information on legal developments in the areas of e-commerce, information technology and intellectual property. It is not intended to be a complete statement of the law, nor is it intended to provide legal advice. No person should act or rely upon the information contained in this newsletter without seeking legal advice.
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