LD 1188
pg. 4
Page 3 of 9 An Act To Control Unsolicited Commercial E-mail Page 5 of 9
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LR 1718
Item 1

 
1. Civil relief; damages.__A person who suffers damages through
computer trespass is entitled to the following civil relief.

 
A. Any person whose property or person is injured by
reason of a violation of any provision of Title 17-A,
section 434 may sue therefor and recover for any damages
sustained and the costs of suit. Without limiting the
generality of the term, "damages" includes loss of
profits.

 
B. If the injury under paragraph A arises from the
transmission of unsolicited bulk electronic mail, the
injured person, other than an electronic mail service
provider, may also recover attorney's fees and costs and
may elect, in lieu of actual damages, to recover $10 for
each unsolicited bulk electronic mail message transmitted
in violation of Title 17-A, chapter 18 or $25,000 per day,
whichever is less.__The injured person does not have a
cause of action against the electronic mail service
provider, which merely transmits the unsolicited bulk
electronic mail over its computer network.

 
C. If the injury under paragraph A arises from the
transmission of unsolicited bulk electronic mail, an
injured electronic mail service provider may also recover
attorney's fees and costs and may elect, in lieu of actual
damages, to recover $10 for each unsolicited bulk
electronic mail message transmitted in violation of Title
17-A, chapter 18 or $25,000 per day, whichever is greater.

 
At the request of any party to an action brought pursuant to
this section, the court may, in its discretion, conduct all
legal proceedings in such a way as to protect the secrecy and
security of the computer, computer network, computer data,
computer program and computer software involved in order to
prevent possible recurrence of the same or a similar act by
another person and to protect any trade secrets of any party.

 
The provisions of this chapter may not be construed to limit
any person's right to pursue any additional civil remedy
otherwise allowed by law.

 
Sec. 2. 17-A MRSA §431, sub-§2, as enacted by PL 1989, c. 620, is
repealed and the following enacted in its place:

 
2.__"Computer" means an electronic, magnetic, optical,
hydraulic or organic device or group of devices that, pursuant
to a computer program, human instruction or permanent
instructions contained in the device or group of devices, can
automatically


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