LumberCartel.ca ✉ Chattel

The Lumber Cartel, local 42 (Canadian branch)

"Chattel" is old legal terminology that refers to a single item of tangible or intangible personal property in most jurisdictions (a small number of jurisdictons restrict this definition to tangible personal property that can be moved, while a few others extend it to include intangible assets).

The definition of chattel is somewhat varied. For example, during the mid-17th century, slaves were classified as "chatel" (spelled with one letter "t" instead of two). Although slavery is outlawed in most civilized nations in the early-21st century, slaves are still sometimes classified as "chattel" where slavery is permitted by law. Chattel

Trespass to chattels

Spam-fighters sometimes use the phrase "trespass to chattels" to describe the actions of a spammer interfering with their chattel (e.g., movable personal property such as computer equipment like eMail servers). In most scenarios, actual damages are not necessarily required to prove a "trespass to chattels" claim, as was evidenced in court proceedings in the following court cases against spammers who intentionally spammed:

This is the first case where "trespass to chattels" was applied to spam:
- 1997 - CompuServe Inc. v. Cyber Promotions, Inc.
These three cases helped to further establish "trespass to chattels" as a spam-fighting tool:
- 1998 - America Online, Inc. v. IMS
- 1998 - America Online, Inc. v. LCGM, Inc.
- 1998 - America Online, Inc. v. Prime Data Systems, Inc.
These two cases used "trespass to chattels" successfully:
- 2000 - eBay v. Bidder's Edge
- 2000 - Register.com, Inc. v. Verio, Inc.

There have also been some instances where "trespass to chattels" was not successful, so it is important to get legal advice from a properly qualified lawyer before deciding whether to use this argument in an actual court case (and because each case is unique, etc.).