Re: debian-legal list entry - confidential information disclosure

[Sam Hartman <hartmans@debian.org>]

>>>>> "Chris" == Chris Lawrence <lawrencc@debian.org> writes:

    Chris> On Mar 12, Anna wrote:
    >> It came to our attention that Debian have published on one of
    >> their mailing lists ("debian-legal") our company's confidential
    >> e-mail exchange.
    >> 
    >> This has been done without seeking our consent and we urge
    >> Debian to remove the entry and the follow-ups from its archive
    >> servers immediately.
    >> 
    >> Details of the thread published through Debian web pages:
    >> Subject: copyright problem (regarding eemu and
    >> compatibles(LONG)) The web address of the information:
    >> http://lists.debian.org/debian-legal/2000/debian-legal-200012/msg00101.html
    >> and the follow-up letters ...

    Chris> I am not a lawyer, but I understand that only one
    Chris> participant in an email exchange must consent to reveal the
    Chris> content of that exchange.  Unless the poster was subject to
    Chris> a non-disclosure agreement, his relaying of the information
    Chris> to our mailing list is not illegal.  Furthermore, even if
    Chris> he was subject to NDA, he and only he would be liable for
    Chris> disseminating the information.

While this may be true for confidentiality, it is certainly not true
for copyright.  If we published their text without their permission,
we must rely on a fair use defense or we are in violation of their
exclusive rights under copyright.

At least under US law, they probably can successfully pressure us to
remove content from Debian archives should they choose to do so.

Note that this is different than the mailing list archiving thread
that came up a while back because the company cannot be presumed to
know they are publishing on a mailing list.