Can Former Employer Still Use My Name on Company Emails?

What is the name of your state? NY

Sorry, didn't know where to post this one. I quit my job on October 15. A month later, I have come to find that my employer is still operating the company email address in my name (i.e. [email protected]). In fact, my former boss, whom I had a BIG to-do with prior to leaving (he was making inappropriate comments and such) is the one checking these emails.

Since the line of business I am in relies on good contacts and good media relationships, I am worried that out of spite my former boss will send a rude comment to someone under my name.

Can my former employer still use my email name? How can I politely ask them to cease and desist from using my name in any company correspondence? I feel they are using my name under false pretenses as they have yet to hire someone for my old position and I was VERY good at what I did. It's like they want people to think I'm still there when I'm not.

Since your employer owns the email system, the domain, all the email addresses that fall under it, and the computer hardware that is used to send these emails, yes, he can.

But they don't own me OR my name. That's such a crock! So they can basically mess with me professionally and I have no recourse because it's on THEIR email? There has to be a way to ask them to stop using MY name.

Funny thing about names...

My maiden name is a very unusual one, at least on this side of the Atlantic. However, my given name is quite common (especially in my age group) and is a family name on my father's side besides. I have at least six cousins with whom I have a given name and my maiden name in common. Which one of us owns it?

My husband, who is nationally recognized in his field, can google his name and find at least two other people with the same identical name, both in different fields. Which one has the copyright?

I just googled Beth3's full name and found no less than five people with the same name, none of them our Beth3, and that was just on the first page. Can she sue them for their use of "her" name?

My point is that you do not "own" your name in the sense that you can stop anyone else from using it. In this sense, it is not "your" name; it is part of an e-mail address which is owned by your employer and which temporarily was used by you, by the consent of your employer.

Now, if someone out there receives an e-mail from that e-mail address, honestly believes that it came from you, and, as a result of that confusion, you suffer DAMAGES as the law sees damages, then and only then you might have a case. Until then, all you can do is politely request that your employer discontinue that address.

Well, I'll have to politely request it then...

I heard something before on some radio station(can't remember when) where some guy was talking about how any person could have their name trademarked or copyrighted or something like that, and how it could get you out of certain legal and financial issues. Sounds a lot like incorporating, from what I recall. You can establish a separate entity for yourself from which to do business. Of course, this can't help you right now. Good luck with it all though. Hopefully you'll get the results you want.

Joeker02, that's been floating around for years and there is no truth to it whatsoever.

Couldn't this be a violation of your ISP policies?

I'm not an expert on this sort of thing, but I think you can contact the Internet Service Provider and file a complaint with them yourself. This group may be helpful WHOA - working to halt abuse online

http://www.haltabuse.org/

I understand that some things about the group are controversial with civil libertarians and Native Americans, but the owner does have an online form you can fill out and there's some useful (if maybe questionable) information in the web pages she puts up that tells you how to find and contact the ISP.

Maybe another forum about internet law would be helpful. Did you try EFF - electronic freedom frontier? http://www.eff.org lots of info there also. They helped me in a similar matter.

uppity

The problem with that is, it's not HER ISP. It's her employer's. She has no claim to bring.