Disclaimers-R-Us

2002-12-05T22:52:00.000-08:00

I've Seen Fire, I've Seen Rain: I've seen confused looks on the recipients of this company's email disclaimer. My favorite part is italicized for your grammatical dissection:

"CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: If you have received this email in error, please notify the sender immediately at the email address shown above, since this email may contain confidential information. This information is intended only for the use of the individual(s) or entity for whom it is intended, even if it was addressed incorrectly. If you are not the intended recipient, please delete it from your files. We appreciate your compliance."

2002-09-19T08:33:00.000-07:00

Confused Again: Let's get this straight. An email from this PR firm "should only be read by those persons to whom it is addressed." So if it wasn't addressed to me, how is it that I'm reading this disclaimer ...

"IMPORTANT NOTICE: BRW LeGrand monitors its incoming and outgoing electronic communications to protect clients' proprietary information and to ensure compliance with company policies. This document should only be read by those persons to whom it is addressed. If you have received this e-mail message in error, please destroy it and delete it from your computer. Any form of reproduction, dissemination, copying, disclosure, modification, distribution and/or publication of this E-mail message is strictly prohibited. BRW LeGrand also scans every file and/or attachment for viruses before transmission. However, it is the recipient's responsibility to protect his or her system from infection."

2002-09-19T08:28:00.000-07:00

Stop the Presses: This concert promoter actually has a useful disclaimer on its weekly newsletter - written in plain English, no less ...

"Disclaimer - We at Higher Listening do our very best to read the minds of the bands, venues, and whoever else we can. Most the time we are pretty good at it and the shows listed here go off without a hitch, but every once in a while a fast one gets pulled on us and the shows get changed. If this happens please just chalk it to 'life' and see another great show. Thanks."

2002-09-07T10:55:00.000-07:00

Who, Me? According to this site, the #1 reason to include a disclaimer at the end of company email is to reduce company responsibility. Yup, that's what we need these days, fewer people taking responsibility for their words and actions. Italics mine, head-in-the-sand approach theirs ...

"The most a disclaimer can accomplish in this respect is to reduce the responsibility of the company, since it can prove that the company has acted responsibly and done everything in its power to stop employees from committing these offenses."
"If a company can show that it has correctly instructed its employees not to send libelous, inappropriate or defamatory statements this could help in disclaiming responsibility if an employee breaches these rules.
"The company cannot accept responsibility for any loss or damage arising from the use of this email or attachments."

2002-09-07T10:44:00.000-07:00

Bloody Ridiculous: Those wacky Brits. Here are the top UK sites tracking the best - worst? - of email and Web disclaimers ...

2002-09-07T10:35:00.000-07:00

Why Bother: Are email disclaimers – especially typical "this is intended for the intended recipient" stipulations – useful? Or even enforceable? This well-researched page seems to answer a resounding NO, based on a few important precepts ...

Disclaimers have little legal value: The UK's Weblaw site admits, "The value of disclaimers is limited, since the courts normally attach more weight to the substantive content of the communication and the circumstances in which it is made than to any disclaimer."
Disclaimers may prevent emails from reaching the right person: Jeff Goldberg says, "There are many cases where the sender of a message hopes that the message will get passed on to the appropriate person (who may not be explicitly addressed in the message), yet if the disclaimer is to be taken seriously that can't be done." Wouldn’t these disclaimers also prevent press releases and newsletters from being redistributed to the right people?
Disclaimers tend to be vainly contradictory: Goldberg says, "So on the one hand, if I am not the recipient I am told that I cannot act on information in the message. On the other hand, I am instructed to take particular actions in that case. One could, I suppose, say that the disclaimer doesn't apply to itself."
Disclaimers require mind-reading: How would anyone – except the sender – know the "intended recipients?" All we can tell from the email is who the addressees are – in other words, who the actual, not intended, recipients are. And anyway, if the sender knows who the recipients ought to be, why not just send the email to them?

2002-09-07T10:04:00.000-07:00

Notify THIS: The stuffshirts at the "not-for-profit" retirement fund company TIAA-CREF (2001 profit: $585 million) actually think the phrase "you are hereby notified" is a good thing to tag onto the end of every outgoing email. Italics mine, arrogance theirs ...

You are hereby notified

2002-09-05T08:16:00.000-07:00

Loyalty Above All: There's nothing like warm fuzzy feelings with a new employer, especially when the HR monkeys at Biltmore Estate put this disclaimer in the job ad. Guess which direction "at will" termination normally goes ...

"Disclaimer: North Carolina is an 'employment-at-will' state and therefore Biltmore Estate and our employees each have the right to terminate the employment relationship at any time, without specified notice."

2002-09-05T08:06:00.000-07:00

Risky Business: What's this? Business involves risk? Uncertainty? Rapid change? Unpredictable sales cycles? I guess the lawyer pinheads at SCC thought the company's PR people should spell it out for us. Words theirs, italics mine ...

a number of risks and uncertainties

lengthy sales cycles

potential difficulties

rapid change

2002-09-05T07:58:00.000-07:00

BIG PROMISE, Small Disclaimer: From an email to San Francisco Examiner employees, sent by executive editor Zoran Basich in February 2002. Wouldn't a "plummeting economy" be a good reason for a layoff anyway? Capitalization from the original note ...

"It is important to keep this message in mind: NO MORE LAYOFFS ARE PLANNED FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR. Excuse the slight disclaimer -- you never know what kind of Act of God or further-plummeting economy will jump up and bite you."