A sacked Intel employee has told Wired News that he intends to
appeal against a ruling which found him guilty of trespass on the
company network when he e-mailed his grievances to former
colleagues. The US Third District Court of Appeal in California
last week ruled against Kourosh Kenneth Hamidi, upholding a lower
court’s judgment of 1999.
Hamidi believed that the chip maker mistreated its staff and
sent a series of e-mail messages to 65,000 Intel.com addresses. The
company took action, seeking a court action to stop him doing it
again.
The Appeals Court ruled that sending unwanted e-mail was an
illegal trespass. However, Judge Daniel Kolkey dissented from the
majority and wrote:
"Under Intel's theory, even lovers' quarrels
could turn into trespass suits by reason of the receipt of
unsolicited letters or calls from the jilted lover. Imagine what
happens after the angry lover tells her fiancée not to call again
and violently hangs up the phone. Fifteen minutes later the phone
rings. Her fiancée wishing to make up? No, tresspass to
chattel."
The majority reasoned that Intel’s injury was the time lost by
its employees while they read the e-mails. Judge Kolkey said that
this was insufficient injury to support a claim of trespass.
