Several times each week I get asked for guidance when it comes to forwarding emails written by others while on business time. “Because it is a business e-mail does that mean they no longer own it?” Because an e-mail is written on business time, does not negate copyright and common courtesy.
Is one to copy the original sender and/or ask if it is O.K. before forwarding their e-mail? Cc’ing doesn’t negate asking for permission. E-mails are sent and written to the party for which they were intended, regardless of when or where they are written and are not to be sent to others without the sender’s permission first. Period — or risk the consequences.
You could be putting your company in legal jeopardy if you forward outside the company and you may be putting your reputation as a professional on the line by forwarding internally. In business, copyright issues are even more at play and every responsible company should have a policy on what can and should be forwarded and how via e-mail.
Common courtesy dictates you do not forward without the original sender’s knowledge. They may not appreciate the e-mail they wrote to you being sent to those they don’t know. And they may not mind at all. So just ask!
Certainly it should go without saying that while on company time the forwarding of shall we just say anything questionable content-wise or not business related simply should not be forwarded at all. Save those e-mails for your personal account while on personal time.
I have an article with some additional general forwarding tips that apply to business and personal e-mails alike that you might find helpful: 5 Rules for Forwarding. Why not also check out my Copyright Refresher?
HTH!
Some More Info for You:
![[Business E-mail Etiquette eBook]](http://www.businessemailetiquette.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/bee-2012-100x140.png)
![[Take The Email Etiquette Pledge]](http://www.emailetiquettepledge.com/ee-rev-medium.jpg)
I agree with you. But the thing is, nobody does this. Whenever I send an e-mail at work, I don’t say anything that I wouldn’t be comfortable with the whole world knowing.
I’ve never been one to forward e-mails to my co-workers at the drop of a hat, but now I’ll refrain from ever forwarding them without asking the author first. But quite frankly, if I asked my co-worker whether I could forward their e-mail to another co-worker, it would probably sound very weird to them, at least at my company.
So I probably just won’t forward e-mails period.
Hey, Sam:
Thanks for sharing your comments! As you know, just because everyone may do a certain thing, doesn’t make it right. The key here is that when we send e-mails it is to the specific person or persons it is addressed to — not to anyone the recipients may want to share with. You can look at it like being on a speaker phone with bunch of people in the room and the person on the other end of the phone thinking only you are there.
You are right to take the better safe than sorry course of action!
At your service,
Judith
Hi Judith,
“Thanks for sharing your comments!”
You’re welcome.
“As you know, just because everyone may do a certain thing, doesn’t make it right. The key here is that when we send e-mails it is to the specific person or persons it is addressed to — not to anyone the recipients may want to share with. You can look at it like being on a speaker phone with bunch of people in the room and the person on the other end of the phone thinking only you are there.”
Oh, I definitely agree.
“You are right to take the better safe than sorry course of action!”
Thanks. Especially at work, I suppose.
I got burned a bit once (but not in a way that threatened my job, fortunately), so I’m extremely cautious about what I say in e-mails.