The document discusses a court case in Brazil regarding spam emails. The State Treasury Court of Porto Alegre lifted an injunction against an internet service provider that was allowing a journalist to distribute a daily newsletter to over 11,000 people via email. The court disagreed with the journalist's argument that the newsletter did not constitute spam under Brazilian law since it does not define spam. The court determined the emails were unsolicited, which is an element of the international definition of spam. This decision broke from previous case law that found unsolicited emails were a legitimate part of marketing.

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I October 21 2002 - Brazil
I $tate treasury court edges closer to defining 'spam'
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I The State Treasury Court of Porto Alegre has lifted an injunction against a joumalist's internet
service provider (ISP), Procergs, which allowed him to continue distributing a daily newsletter to over
11,000 people via emai!. The court disagreed with Diego Casagrande's argument that his newsletter
could not be c1assified legally as spam.
Procergs decided to restrict the indiscriminate delivery of emails in response to complaints from
users, duly notifying its customers about the change in policy. Casagrande then obtained an
injunction, which stated that Procergs had no right to restriet the delivery of his newsletters via the
Internet.
Judge Martin Schulze of the state treasury court revoked the injunction, ruling that Procergs's
decision to stop the delivery of Casagrande's newsletter did not constitute a restriction of journalist
activities. The court also disagreed with Casagrande's contention that the e-newsletter could not be
c1assified as spam since Brazilian law does not offer a definition of 'spam'. The court felt that
Casagrande's emails were unsolicited - an essential element of the internationally recognized
definition of 'spam' (unsolicited, commercial email).
This decision is a radical break from previous case law, which found that unsolicited emails were a
legitimate part of any healthy marketing scheme (see First Brazilian decision on spam takes wrong
turn).
Erica Aoki, Stroeter, Royster & Ohno Advogados - Advogados Associated wffh Steel Hector & Davis
LLP, São Paulo
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