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I have an open source project regarding software used in banking and I have received emails about it from employees working in top banks/consultancies.

I am considering to mention this in the website, so I am thinking whether I would have any legal trouble if I do so.

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  • If you name the employees, they might have trouble with their employers: does this concern you? – Tim Lymington Jul 21 '19 at 10:04
  • I don't plan to mention their name, just that someone working in Goldman Sachs for example, provided comments on it – sen_saven Jul 21 '19 at 10:07
  • Do you plan in disclosing what the email say? Because saying that "an employee of goldam Sachs congratulated me by email" is one thing, but disclosing the contents of a long email where they detail how your software is used at Goldman Sachs is a different matter. In many jurisdictions emails are considered like letters and are thus private so you need permission by the sender to publish the contents. – Giacomo Alzetta Jul 26 '19 at 15:29
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It may be illegal if you identify the individuals without their consent. You should also be careful about identifying the companies without their agreement as using their name may be construed as endorsement by them of your project.

Otherwise, provided what you say is factually correct, there could be no objection to statements such as "a top executive of a leading bank said this software was 'fabulous'". If you are using the statement in any sense of advertising you should keep the original attributable statement on record in case you are called on to substantiate your claim.

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  • thanks for your response, actually I would prefer marketing-wise to mention the name of the companies (but not the individual employees). I doubt that it would be easy to get a formal approval from the company, so your point is that I should generically mention 'top banks' or 'top consultancies'? – sen_saven Jul 21 '19 at 10:10
  • Yes, unless you ask the sender of the email "hi, is it okay to use your and your company's name along with your comments for marketing purposes and is your company okay with that?" – Owain Jul 21 '19 at 10:21
  • @sen_saven To expand on the endorsement part... Using the company's name in any way that endorses or advertises your product through their name very likely violates their trademark. You must have their permission, regardless of what they've said to you. – animuson♦ Jul 23 '19 at 21:54

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