Is a private email protected?

Is the author of a private email protected under copyright laws? I sent a confidential email (I denoted this several times within the email), but then it was forwarded to others. I am extremely upset about this because it included information about my family. I hope that there is something I can do to make sure that it does not go to anybody else.
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Answered By: Nelson & Lawless
Once you send [publish] that email, it is no longer within your power to prevent its spread, or remove it from the web world, whether you tried to copyright it or not. If you do not want something spread, do not send it. An author can try to prevent and punish commercial infringement of actually properly copyrighted material, but you are not in that category.

Answer Applies to: California
Replied: 8/21/2010

Disclaimer: The response above does not form an attorney-client relationship. This answer may or may not apply to you and should not be relied upon as legal advice. LawQA does not make any representation as to the expertise or qualifications of this attorney. This attorney may or may not be admitted to state bar of your state.

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