Disclosure

The preponderance of authority pointed strongly against there being any proprietary right in the content of information and that had to apply to the content of an e-mail. There was no practical basis for holding that there would be property in the content of an e-mail, even if it was otherwise open to do so. To the extent that people required protection against the misuse of information contained in e-mails, satisfactory protection was provided under English law either by the equitable jurisdiction in relation to confidential information, by contract where there was one or the law of copyright where applicable. There were no compelling practical reasons that supported the existence of a proprietary right—indeed, practical considerations militated against it.