Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Colorado:
SECTION 1. Title 6, Colorado Revised
Statutes, is amended BY THE ADDITION OF A NEW ARTICLE to read:
ARTICLE 2.5
Colorado Junk Email Law
6-2.5-101. Short title. This article shall
be known and may be cited as the "Colorado Junk Email Law".
6-2.5-102. Definitions. As used in this
article, unless the context otherwise requires:
(1) "Current or prior business relationship" means:
(a) The recipient has indicated a willingness to receive
commercial electronic mail messages from that sender; or
(b) The recipient has purchased or leased real property,
goods, or services from the sender of the unsolicited commercial electronic
mail message, the message from the sender directly concerns the purchase or
lease, and the message is sent within the warranty period or within thirteen
months after the date of purchase or lease, whichever period is a greater
length of time; or
(c) The recipient has an ongoing contract with the sender
of the unsolicited commercial electronic mail message, and the message from
the sender directly concerns the ongoing contract.
(2) "Electronic mail" means an electronic message or computer
file containing an image of a message that is transmitted between two or more
computers or electronic terminals. "electronic mail" includes electronic
messages that are transmitted within or between computer networks.
(3) "Electronic mail service provider" means any person that
is an intermediary in sending or receiving electronic mail or provides to end
users of electronic mail services the ability to send or receive electronic
mail.
(4) "Person" shall have the same meaning as set forth in
section 2-4-401(8), C.R.S.
(5) "Unsolicited commercial electronic mail message" means an
electronic mail message sent without the recipient's expressed permission for
the purpose of promoting real property, goods, or services for sale or lease;
6-2.5-103. Restrictions on certain commercial
electronic mail - violations of article. (1) It shall be a
violation of this article for any person that sends an unsolicited commercial
electronic mail message to fail to disclose the actual point-of-origin
electronic mail address of the unsolicited commercial electronic mail message.
(2) It shall be a violation of this article for any person
that sends an unsolicited commercial electronic mail message to falsify
electronic mail transmission information or other routing information for the
unsolicited commercial electronic mail message.
(3) It shall be a violation of this article for any person
that sends an unsolicited commercial electronic mail message to use a third
party's internet address or domain name without the third party's consent for
the purposes of transmitting electronic mail.
(4) It shall be a violation of this article for any person
that sends an unsolicited commercial electronic mail message to fail to use
the exact characters "ADV:" (the capital letters "A", "D", and "V", in that
order, followed immediately by a colon) as the first four characters in the
subject line of an unsolicited commercial electronic mail message unless the
sender:
(a) Is an organization using electronic mail to communicate
exclusively with its members; or
(b) Is an organization using electronic mail to communicate
exclusively with its employees or contractors, or both; or
(c) Has a current or prior business relationship with the
recipient, as defined in section 6-2.5-102(1).
(5) It shall be a violation of this article for any person
that sends an unsolicited commercial electronic mail message to fail to
provide a mechanism allowing recipients to easily and at no cost remove
themselves from the sender's electronic mail address lists so that they are
not included in future mailings.
It shall also be a violation of this article to send
unsolicited commercial electronic mail messages to any person that has
requested under this subsection (5) to be removed from the sender's electronic
mail lists or to provide the electronic mail address of any such person to any
third party, whether or not such third party is part of the sender's business
organization.
However, electronic mail addresses may be provided to any
such person or to any third party for the sole purpose of inclusion in
do-not-email lists.
6-2.5-104. Enforcement - civil right of action for
damages - civil penalty. (1) In the case of any violation of this
article, the following entities may each separately file a civil action in a
court of competent jurisdiction and may each, upon proof of such violation,
recover such sums as are allowed under this section:
(a) The person receiving an unsolicited commercial electronic
mail message;
(b) Any electronic mail service provider whose network or
facilities were used in the transmission or attempted transmission of an
unsolicited commercial electronic mail message.
(2) (a) In any such action, the prevailing party other than
the originator of the unsolicited commercial electronic mail message shall be
entitled to actual damages. Upon a showing that the sender of an unsolicited
commercial electronic mail message violated any provision of this article,
whether or not the violation resulted in a financial loss or injury, the
prevailing party other than the originator of the unsolicited commercial
electronic mail message may recover attorney fees and costs.
(b) In any such action, the prevailing party other than the
originator of the unsolicited commercial electronic mail message is also
entitled to recover as part of the judgment a civil penalty in the amount of
ten dollars for each unsolicited commercial electronic mail message
transmitted in violation of this article.
(3) The remedies, duties, prohibitions, and penalties of this
section are not exclusive and are in addition to all other causes of action,
remedies, and penalties provided by law.
(4) 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 any
computer, computer network, computer data, or computer software involved in
order to prevent possible recurrence of the same or similar conduct by another
person and to protect the trade secrets of any party.
(5) Electronic mail service providers that adopt and
implement terms, conditions, or technical measures with the intent to prevent
or prohibit the origination or transmission of unsolicited commercial
electronic mail messages in violation of this article shall be immune from
civil liability for any such actions, and no provision of this article shall
be construed to create any liability for such actions.
(6) No electronic mail service provider shall be liable for
the mere transmission of unsolicited commercial electronic mail messages over
the provider's computer network or facilities.
(7) The provisions of this article shall not be construed to
require any electronic mail service provider to carry or deliver any
electronic mail merely because a sender complies with the provisions of this
article.
6-2.5-105. Scope of article. This article
shall apply when an unsolicited commercial electronic mail message is sent to
a Colorado resident via an electronic mail service provider's service or
leased or owned equipment located in this state.
SECTION 2. 13-6-105(1)(f), Colorado
Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
13-6-105. Specific limits on civil
jurisdiction. (1) The county court shall have no civil
jurisdiction except that specifically conferred upon it by law. In particular,
it shall have no jurisdiction over the following matters:
(f) Original proceedings for the issuance of injunctions,
except as provided in section 13-6-104 (5), except as required to enforce
restrictive covenants on residential property and to enforce the provisions
of article 2.5 of title 6, C.R.S., and except as otherwise specifically
authorized in this article or, if there is no authorization, by rule of the
Colorado supreme court.
SECTION 3. 13-6-403 (2) (h), Colorado
Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
13-6-403. Jurisdiction of small claims court
- limitations.
(2) The small claims court shall have no jurisdiction except
that specifically conferred upon it by law. In particular, it shall have no
jurisdiction over the following matters:
(h) Actions involving injunctive relief, except as required
to enforce restrictive covenants on residential property and to enforce the
provisions of article 2.5 of title 6, C.R.S.;
SECTION 4. Effective date -
applicability. (1) This act shall take effect at 12:01
a.m. on the day following the expiration of the ninety-day period after final
adjournment of the general assembly that is allowed for submitting a
referendum petition pursuant to article V, section 1(3) of the state
constitution; except that, if a referendum petition is filed against this act
or an item, section, or part of this act within such period, then the act,
item, section, or part, if approved by the people, shall take effect on the
date of the official declaration of the vote thereon by proclamation of the
governor.
(2) The provisions of this act shall apply to acts occurring
on or after the applicable effective date of this act.
