|
Legal Advice Available For Spammers I guess that only thing that should surprise me about this is that it took 12 days from the point the CAN-Spam law took effect before I received my first invitation to an event like this:
[letterhead of large law firm with a respected technology law practice omitted...]
Attention: All Businesses that Use E-mail
Are you Breaking the New Anti-Spam Law by Emailing Your Customers and Prospects?
Join Us to Learn how the NEW Federal Anti-Spam law affects your Company
Topics Include: - What must an email include to avoid being labeled "SPAM"?
- Opt in/Opt out Requirements
- Ensuring Your Customers "Consent" to Receiving Email
- Strategies for legal email advertising under the new law
When: Thursday, January 29, 2004
Time: 8:30 - 10:00 a.m.
Where: [omitted]
There is no cost to attend
Call 555-555-5555 to register
Refreshments will be served
I should emphasize that this invitation itself was not spam. It came from a law firm that I get a technology law newsletter from, and the newsletter does contain unsubscribe instructions (though this invitation did not). I should also emphasize that I don't think they are doing anything unethical by conducting this seminar. It is their job to explain the law to their clients, and the CAN Spam law has in fact made spam that follows specific guidelines 100% legal in the US. I do, however, find it interesting that they decided not to honor Hormel Foods' request for respect of their trademark on the word "SPAM" in uppercase letters, and I'm even more interested in the fact that they chose to surround the word "consent" with quotation marks -- because it implies that they might have some ideas about stretching the definition of consent beyond what most people might expect.
|