Workplace Privacy – France

“cannot reasonably be read to protect against businessplace conduct” without violation of specific invasion of pri-vacy provisions. Both the SShhooaarrss case and the BBoouurrkkee casewere upheld on appeal.

In summary, it can be observed in some recent Americancase law at the state level, that in the absence of a reason-able expectation of privacy on the part of the employee,linked to the circumstances of the case, the state court willnot find in favour of the employee. Signature of a computeruse form or other types of notice that the computer systemis limited to business use have been held to do away withsuch reasonable expectation of privacy on the part of anemployee. Such findings are, of course, in direct oppositionto the latest holdings in the groundbreaking NNiikkoonn andother cases in France.

Multinationals facing the problems relating to companyemail use by their employees may be forced to take differ-ent stances in their email policies edited in the United Statesand France. It can thus, as we have seen, be a useful exerciseto monitor the somewhat singular evolution of a legislativeand judicial approach to electronic workplace privacy inFrance. Our brief look at some examples of the contrastinglegal treatment of email monitoring in the United States willsensitize the observer to the complexity and consequenceswhich he must confront if he maintains email systems andhas employment relationships in one or both of these juris-dictions.

NNaannccyy EE.. MMuueenncchhiinnggeerr,Report Correspondent, Avocat à la Courand Attorney-at-law,Denton Salès Vincent & Thomas,Paris.

FOOTNOTES1 Les Echos,August 22, 2000, p. 3.2 Europeprofile,focus on France,sponsored by DeepBridge,May 2000.3 Norman, J., “Firm to Firm E-Buying Web’s Biggest Business,” TheArizona Republic, March 24 ; 1999.4 Over 24 % of Employees’Time is not Work Related ,Business Week,August 11, 1998.5 Soc.2 juillet 1987 :Bull.civ.V,no.438 ;Droit ouvrier 1988 ;234 noteD.J. ; JCP 1988. II. 20924 ; Soc. 9 juillet 1997 : RJS 1997. 772,no.1252 ;TPS 1997, no.264, obs.Teyssié.

6 Liaisons Sociales Quotidien,Vendredi 7 Septembre 2001, p.3.7 CA Paris, 21e ch., section B, 7 mars, 1997, n° 37.969/94, Ste Suissed’assurance générale sur la vie humaine c/Robert.8 SSmmyytthh vv TThhee PPiillllssbbuurryy CCoo., 914 F.Supp.97 (E.D.Pa. 1996); BBoouurrkkee vvNNiissssaann MMoottoorr CCoorrpp., No. B-068705 (Cal.Ct.App. July 26, 1993);SShhooaarrss vv EEppssoonn AAmmeerriiccaa IInncc., No. B-073243 (Cal. Ct.App., District,Div.2,April 14, 1994), review denied No. S-040065, 1994 Cal. LEXIS3670 (1994); <www.law.seattleu.edu/fachome/chronm/Cases/shoars.html>.

426

BOOK REVIEW

Intellectual Property

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This book, now in its second edition, offers an introduction to the world of intellectual property law in the fields ofcopyright,patents,designs and trademark law. Its aim is to offer analysis of these topics in an accessible style. The authorscombine their backgrounds in academic teaching and private legal practice to offer a practical introduction to the subject.The second edition of the work includes analysis of the Databases Regulations of 1997 and an update on case law and legalrights and concepts - particularly arising from the rapid development in the exploitation of intellectual property over theInternet. There are two new chapters in the second edition dealing with databases and with intellectual property on theInternet. There is also an update on competition law to accommodate the Competition Act of 1998. However, the bookcame too soon to incorporate the Copyright and Conditional Access Directives of the EU.

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