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"Spam" is the term used to describe unsolicited e-mail sent to large numbers of recipients.
In December 1999, a New York District Court dealt with a case of spamming which was remarkable for the audacity and perversity of the perpetrators - an organisation ("CB") which marketed apricot seeds as a cure for cancer.
It seems that CB had managed to procure the e-mail mailing lists of America Online Inc ("AOL"), then used those lists to send more than 20 million messages to AOL's members through AOL's e-mail system. The messages contained links to web sites marketing the apricot seeds and related publications. The messages also falsely indicated that they had come from AOL. The sheer volume of e-mail clogged AOL's computer systems.
When thousands of its members complained, AOL's lawyers demanded that CB "cease and desist", but the demand was ignored. AOL then filed legal action against CB but this, too, was ignored. In fact, CB ignored the entire legal process and continued its spamming unabated. The Court found that CB had damaged AOL's business and its goodwill by wrongfully causing AOL to be associated with spam and spammers. The Court awarded damages for economic loss, punitive damages and costs totalling more than US$600,000 and granted a permanent injunction restraining CB from using AOL's network and its trademark.
Spammers have always been regarded with contempt by the internet community, so it is interesting to see that a common law legal system has been able to apply existing law to act decisively. This was an extreme case, and there are many differences of approach between US and Australian law, but there seems no reason why an Australian court would not act similarly in such a case.
Acknowledgment: New York Law Journal