Warren wrote:
You're now touching on the murky area where the difference between the IP and the medium become blurred, and I also have no firm stance here.
I think it's fairly clear.
I work in IT. Usually accounting or stock systems (OK... stock control is accounting, so shoot me). There is a large amount of valuable data and information on the computers that I work on. Also there is software, and that software
a) is written for and to meet the demands of the companies that I work for
b) is paid for by those companies
c) in some cases gives clues to their proprietary business procedures and methods.
There is also a large amount of statistical data that can be gleaned from those systems if you have access to them.
OK... let's say that somebody hacks into one of the servers, or that I, sitting within the firewall but up to no good, make a backup and then deliver that to somebody who gives me something in return.
What has been lost? What has been taken? The original 1s and 0s are still there on the disc drive aren't they?
Say the server is physically removed. What's been lost then and what's it worth? An intel based server with a good but not great disc system and some network cards?
The IP resides in the information. The disc, the server, the 1s and 0s are just the medium in which it is stored.
Even into the early 90s a judge in this country would most likely have awarded damages based on the value of the actual physical loss sustained - irrespective of the damage caused to the company. Laws didn't cope very well with IP, and especially with the fast-moving digital age and it's implications for business. (though I note that the first IP laws go back over 100 years).
If I were the felon and were caught I'd have been given a sentence commensurate with the theft of the hardware (if I actually took it) or perhaps trespass (if I were physically present on the premises without consent). If my contract with the company specifically dealt with making copies of data or software and removing them from the premises then there might be the makings of a civil case (with worst case scenario being a bad reference and a contract torn up).
These days it's different, though putting a price on IP remains difficult it's understood that the damage I have caused is substantially more than the value of any hardware that was taken. Take the laptop of the MD of the company on whose premises I am working today. If I steal that then what have I taken and what's it worth?. 20 k if it's good lap top? What's it worth to his competitors? What is the potential loss and damage to his company? A lot more than 20k that's for sure. What if I manage to hack in across a wireless network and make copies of all his emails. Have I taken anything? Physically I have not taken anything from him - the 1s and 0s are still on his computer after all - but is anybody going to tell me that I haven't just stolen something?
I took something from him without his freely given consent. Bzzzzt! I get the bucket of slime. It's theft.
When music is whizzing around between computers and ipods the Mp3 (or whatever files) are just a container, just a transport mechanism. The contents - the notes, the lyrics, the production - is the IP. The boundaries are quite clear really. We should all be able to see the distinction.
