Anti-spam group sued for blackening the name of Black Ice

Thursday's hearing was a preliminary hearing, intended to refine the issues pending in the suit between the e-mail privacy group and Black Ice Software, a fax, voice and imaging software manufacturer.

The lawsuit arose when Black Ice was listed in a MAPS database that contains the details of web sites which do not follow MAPS' suggested e-mail abuse policies. Subscribers to MAPS' services can utilise the information in the database to decide whether to block e-mail which originates from these sites, thereby reducing the amount of unwanted e-mail traffic which enters their system.

In its lawsuit against MAPS, Black Ice wrote:

“The wrongful listing of Black Ice on the MAPS [database] and the labelling of Black Ice as a ‘spammer’ by MAPS resulted in a substantial loss of Black Ice’s internet and e-mail services and damaged Black Ice’s business and business reputation.”

The judge agreed that MAPS did potentially cause a mesure of damage to Black Ice’s name by targeting it as a spammer. MAPS Director of Legal and Public Affairs, Anne P. Mitchell, said that MAPS are not bothered that the court found some merit in the contentions of Black Ice:

It simply means that there are genuine issues for trial. We fully expect to prevail on the merits, and on the basis that the First Amendment grants us a right to publish our opinion, just like Consumer Reports, or a restaurant reviewer. Can you imagine McDonald's suing a restaurant reviewer for saying that their hamburgers could be better?”