I like the idea, but I just don't see startups needing or using an email disclaimer. Plus they are pretty much worthless legal wise - http://www.economist.com/node/18529895.
Two legally useful email disclaimers: "this is not legal advice" and "this is not an offer to buy or sell securities".
These are both legally binding, because they merely remove potential ambiguity from an email and explicitly state the absence of a contract. Without the disclaimer, the text of an email might otherwise be interpreted to mean that a contract was present.
Like, I wouldn't imagine you could send an email along the lines of, "Hey, I'm looking to buy some securities. You in, bro? DISCLAIMER: This is not an offer to buy or sell securities."
With the disclaimer, I expect this would be read as an "offer to treat". Not a contract offer, but rather, an invitation to negotiate one.
Coupons printed in the newspaper are also mere offers to treat, which is why they can be dishonoured.
Of course, I am not a lawyer, and this is not legal advice.
Obviously you can't hide behind an email disclaimer to C your A if your A is blatantly violating the letter or spirit of the disclaimer.
The disclaimer makes certain that both you and I realize this isn't an offer, just a conversation.
You might get into trouble if you routinely engaged in securities transactions via email with such a disclaimer. But if you handle all actual trades with a legalistic form containing no disclaimer, and informal conversations in email with a disclaimer, the disclaimer is likely to hold up in court.
Zouf wrote:
While you are mostly correct, there is one good legal use of an email footer:
to declare the data above it as confidential, and therefore comply with
confidentiality agreements that protect only data that has been explicitly
declared as confidential.
stewsnooze wrote:
Practice what you preach.......
This e-mail may contain confidential material. If you are not an intended
recipient, please notify the sender and delete all copies. It may also contain
personal views which are not the views of The Economist Group. We may
monitor e-mail to and from our network...
I wouldn't start leaving them out just yet.
> Many firms—The Economist included—automatically append these sorts of disclaimers to every message sent from their e-mail servers, no matter how brief and trivial the message itself might be.
We hope a lot more people will find the privacy policy, NDA and the coming terms of use more helpful...and we hope to have some other documents up soon, too...so, don't forget to bookmark it! :)