The case that decided information can't be stolen dates from 1987.
Tim Send a noteboard - 20/01/2011 09:35:31 AM
Grant v Allan 1987 JC 71. In short, an employee was prosecuted for making copies of confidential information to sell to his employer's business rivals. He said "this isn't a crime", and the sheriff (first-instance judge) rejected his argument, but on appeal the High Court said he was right.
By the way, in Scots criminal law the prosecution doesn't have to name the crime it thinks you've committed. It just has to say what it claims you did, and if the charge discloses any crime, it will be relevant. In this case that is precisely how the prosecution went about it: they didn't mention the word "theft" at all. So what this case means is that copying confidential information isn't a crime at all, not just that it isn't theft.
However, it is totally uncontroversial that what he allegedly did constituted the delict of "breach of confidence".
(You'll note that I didn't say he actually did it. This is because he successfully defended himself by saying "what I'm accused of isn't a crime", so the prosecution never got a chance to prove he did it.)
By the way, in Scots criminal law the prosecution doesn't have to name the crime it thinks you've committed. It just has to say what it claims you did, and if the charge discloses any crime, it will be relevant. In this case that is precisely how the prosecution went about it: they didn't mention the word "theft" at all. So what this case means is that copying confidential information isn't a crime at all, not just that it isn't theft.
However, it is totally uncontroversial that what he allegedly did constituted the delict of "breach of confidence".
(You'll note that I didn't say he actually did it. This is because he successfully defended himself by saying "what I'm accused of isn't a crime", so the prosecution never got a chance to prove he did it.)
Vigilantibus non dormientibus jura subveniunt.
—Nous disons en allemand : le guerre, le mort, le lune, alors que 'soleil' et 'amour' sont du sexe féminin : la soleil, la amour. La vie est neutre.
—La vie ? Neutre ? C'est très joli, et surtout très logique.
—Nous disons en allemand : le guerre, le mort, le lune, alors que 'soleil' et 'amour' sont du sexe féminin : la soleil, la amour. La vie est neutre.
—La vie ? Neutre ? C'est très joli, et surtout très logique.
Why is downloading "illegally" really illegal?
- 19/01/2011 03:30:57 PM
1549 Views
you can't legally record and distribute TV shows
- 19/01/2011 05:21:06 PM
1192 Views
Re: you can't legally record and distribute TV shows
- 19/01/2011 09:52:48 PM
1284 Views
Many shows (especially sports) forbid the duplication of said show in a statement or the credits.
- 20/01/2011 03:22:10 AM
1151 Views
I haven't been able to read the credits for TV shows in years.
- 20/01/2011 03:51:40 AM
1014 Views
Ignorance of the law is not a valid defence *NM*
- 21/01/2011 01:21:25 PM
560 Views
How do you figure that?
- 21/01/2011 02:08:13 PM
1103 Views
Re: How do you figure that?
- 22/01/2011 08:33:04 PM
1534 Views
A lot of it's volume.
- 19/01/2011 05:32:03 PM
1085 Views
Your argument lacks merit.
- 19/01/2011 05:50:11 PM
1093 Views
Both terms lack accuracy in this case really.
- 19/01/2011 06:37:29 PM
1361 Views
We need to distinguish between a crime and a tort.
- 19/01/2011 10:17:30 PM
1199 Views
Very interesting.
- 19/01/2011 10:28:35 PM
1233 Views
Another scrabble word for you is "delict". That's what we call tort in Scotland.
- 19/01/2011 10:37:08 PM
1138 Views
It won't get you very many points.
Very nice legal overview, also I like Scotland's approach a lot
- 19/01/2011 11:21:47 PM
1048 Views
The case that decided information can't be stolen dates from 1987.
- 20/01/2011 09:35:31 AM
1829 Views
Unfortunately, damages can result in thousands of dollars for one song
- 22/01/2011 08:19:40 PM
981 Views
Here's the US answer on the VCR thing, and how it relates to today's copyright problems
- 19/01/2011 11:35:31 PM
1155 Views
Re: Here's the US answer on the VCR thing, and how it relates to today's copyright problems *NM*
- 19/01/2011 11:37:56 PM
555 Views
Re: Here's the US answer on the VCR thing, and how it relates to today's copyright problems
- 20/01/2011 12:49:55 AM
1372 Views