Confidentiality Disclaimers

The intent of a confidentiality disclaimer is to limit or reduce a company's liability for electronic mail distributed either within the company or external to the company by an individual representing the company (employee, vendor, client. etc). Confidentiality disclaimers can be attached either before an email message or at the end of a message. They are typically used to notify recipients of the communication of any legal disclaimer or marketing information (such as company name, address, email address, website, etc).

Some questions to consider:

• Where should you attaché the disclaimer to the message? Often the disclaimers are attached to the end of the message. Some suggest that disclaimers be attached before the message in case a confidential message is sent to the wrong recipient.
• What emails should have disclaimers? We recommend all emails, whether internal or external, receive the disclaimers. You never know when an internal email will be forwarded to an external recipient or an employee may take issue with discriminatory or offensive material emailed by a co-worker.
• Are there any special considerations necessary for departmental disclaimers? Some department emails may include time sensitive data such as pricing. A specialized disclaimer concerning prices changing without notification, etc may be needed.
• How many disclaimers are too many? As emails are sent, forwarded, replied, copied, etc, you can end up with a lot of unnecessary text. You may end up with more disclaimers than anything. Keep the disclaimer brief and highlight the disclaimer text so it is separated from the text of your message. This will make it easier for the recipient to view both your message and the disclaimer.

Legal issues: Disclaimers are typically used in an effort to limit liability in a court of law and can include statement to protect the company from issues relating to confidentiality (intentional or accidental), transmission of computer viruses (intentional or accidental), unintentional contractual agreements, negligent misstatement (employee statements may not represent the company), employer liability due to employee actions. Disclaimers may not prevent legal ramifications, but may limit or reduce exposure. Often, having a disclaimer may prevent some problems from occurring.

Marketing disclaimers: For marketing purposes, the disclaimer may include company name, website, brand image, or slogan. Also, these disclaimers can replace what your company's letterhead would add - a professional appearance.