Interesting antispam tactic

Conventional antispam systems attempt to determine which e-mail messages are spam and then filter out those messages. However, Habeas, a start-up that began formal operations in mid-August, takes the opposite approach: its system guarantees that any e-mail sent by a Habeas licensee is not a spam message.

The Habeas Sender Warranted E-mail (SWE) system works by licensing to its users a set of headers (part of which contains a haiku) that Habeas has copyrighted and trademarked. Users then include these headers in their outgoing mail, configuring either the client or the server to include these headers.

Recipients of e-mail sent by Habeas licensees can establish client-side filters to identify the e-mail as nonspam, or a mail server can be set up to do so.

The Habeas system can also be used in conjunction with conventional antispam services and products. These systems can be configured to recognize the SWE headers, guaranteeing that e-mail from Habeas licensees is never incorrectly identified as spam.

Technically, there is nothing that would prevent a spammer from copying the Habeas SWE headers and sending e-mails using them. However, because these headers are copyrighted and trademarked works, Habeas promises to vigorously seek legal remedies against all such offenders, which really is the backbone of the Habeas system. The president of Habeas is a law professor and was formerly director of legal and public affairs for the Mail Abuse Prevention System.

ISPs and individuals can use the Habeas system at no charge; enterprise customers pay an annual license fee of $200, while senders of bulk, opt-in e-mail pay separate licensing fees.

Habeas has definitely taken a unique and interesting approach to solving the spam problem. Its system should appeal to those whose communications are frequently trapped by antispam systems as " false positives, " such as publishers of opt-in newsletters. That said, the ultimate success of the Habeas system will depend upon how widely the system is used and the success that Habeas enjoys in seeking legal relief against those who use the SWE headers without permission.

What do you think of the Habeas concept vs. the concept used by conventional antispam systems? I'd enjoy hearing your thoughts - please drop me a line at mailto:michael@ostermanresearch.com

Michael D. Osterman is the principal of Osterman Research, a market research firm that helps organizations understand the markets for messaging, directory and related products and services. He can be reached by clicking here.

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