Ownership of electronic mail documents after death

Abstract

In the past, a basic means of communication was the delivery of messages by persons who carried them directly from sender to recipient. These messages were not to be opened by anyone other than the recipient. Hence, privacy was guaranteed. Later, postal systems were assigned the same type of function. Recently, the world has undergone a rapid development in informatics and communication and e-mail is widely used as an alternative because of its ease of use, instant delivery, and low cost. This paper addresses a specific problem with e-mail: the potential loss, after death, of e-documents which exist only in an individual's inbox. These cannot be retrieved because passwords were known only to the individual, and consequently, rights relating to these documents may be lost. The risks involve vary: documents may belong to high status people (presidents, leaders, scientists, celebrities, etc.), or they could be contracts, property papers, and shipping receipts relating to commercial transactions. Additionally...