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
1890 Views
you can't legally record and distribute TV shows
- 19/01/2011 05:21:06 PM
1466 Views
Re: you can't legally record and distribute TV shows
- 19/01/2011 09:52:48 PM
1527 Views
Many shows (especially sports) forbid the duplication of said show in a statement or the credits.
- 20/01/2011 03:22:10 AM
1391 Views
I haven't been able to read the credits for TV shows in years.
- 20/01/2011 03:51:40 AM
1274 Views
Ignorance of the law is not a valid defence *NM*
- 21/01/2011 01:21:25 PM
681 Views
How do you figure that?
- 21/01/2011 02:08:13 PM
1358 Views
Re: How do you figure that?
- 22/01/2011 08:33:04 PM
1865 Views
A lot of it's volume.
- 19/01/2011 05:32:03 PM
1372 Views
Your argument lacks merit.
- 19/01/2011 05:50:11 PM
1362 Views
Both terms lack accuracy in this case really.
- 19/01/2011 06:37:29 PM
1644 Views
We need to distinguish between a crime and a tort.
- 19/01/2011 10:17:30 PM
1496 Views
Very interesting.
- 19/01/2011 10:28:35 PM
1503 Views
Another scrabble word for you is "delict". That's what we call tort in Scotland.
- 19/01/2011 10:37:08 PM
1382 Views
Very nice legal overview, also I like Scotland's approach a lot
- 19/01/2011 11:21:47 PM
1302 Views
The case that decided information can't be stolen dates from 1987.
- 20/01/2011 09:35:31 AM
2092 Views
Unfortunately, damages can result in thousands of dollars for one song
- 22/01/2011 08:19:40 PM
1225 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
1450 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
886 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
1661 Views

It won't get you very many points.