172 lines
7.7 KiB
Plaintext
172 lines
7.7 KiB
Plaintext
/* R FRINGE COMMENTARY: Mississippi Computer Crimes Law,
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effective July 1, 1985 */
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SECTION 97-45-1 Definitions.
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For the purposes of this chapter, the following words shall
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have the following meanings ascribed herein, unless the context
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clearly requires otherwise:
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(a) "Access" means to program, to execute programs on, to
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communicate with, store data in, retrieve data from or
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otherwise make use of any resources, including data or
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programs, of a computer, computer system or computer network.
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(b) "Computer" includes an electronic, magnetic, optical or
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other high-speed data processing device or system performing
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logical [,] arithmetic and storage functions and includes any
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property, data storage facility or communications facility
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directly related to or operating in conjunction with such device
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or system. "Computer" shall not include an automated typewriter
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or type-setter, a machine designed solely for word processing
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which contains no data base intelligence, or a portable hand-held
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calculator nor shall "computer" include any other device which
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contains components similar to those in computers but which have
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the sole function of controlling the device for the single
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purpose for which the device is intended unless the thus
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controlled device is a processor of data or is a storage of
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intelligence in which case it too is included.
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(c) "Computer network" means a set of related, remotely connected
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devices and communications facilities including at least one (1)
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computer system with the capability to transmit data through
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communication facilities.
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(d) "Computer program" means an ordered set of data
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representing coded instructions or statements that when
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executed by a computer cause the computer to process data.
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(e) "Computer software" means a set of computer programs,
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procedures and associated documentation concerned with
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operation of a computer system.
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(f) "Computer system" means a set of functionally related ,
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connected or unconnected, computer equipment, devices or computer
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software.
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(g) "Computer services" means providing access to or service
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or data from a computer, a computer system or a computer
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network and includes the actual data processing.
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(h) "Financial instrument" means any check, draft, money
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order, certificate of deposit, letter of credit, bill of
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exchange, credit card as defined in Section 97-19-9(b),
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Mississippi Code of 1972, or marketable security.
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(i) "Intellectual property" includes data, computer programs,
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computer software, trade secrets, copyrighted material and
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confidential or proprietary information in any form or medium
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when such is sorted in, produced by or intended for use or
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storage with or in a computer, a computer system or a computer
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network.
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(j) "Property" means property as defined in Section 1-3-45,
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Mississippi Code of 1972, and shall specifically include, but
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not be limited to, financial instruments, electronically stored
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or produced data and computer programs, whether in machine
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readable and human readable form.
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(k) "Proper means" includes:
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(i) discovery by independent invention;
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(ii) discovery by "reverse engineering"; that is, by
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starting with the known product and working backward to
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find the method by which it was developed. The
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acquisition of the known product shall be by lawful means;
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/* The Mississippi statute is very clear in permitting reverse
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engineering. Although no court has addressed this specific law,
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it seems that a license clause which prohibited reverse
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engineering would be invalid in the State of Mississippi.
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WARNING: This is a very limited permission for reverse
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engineering; for example, you can't simply reverse engineer a
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product and then start printing copies of it with your own title
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and sell it; that would violate the copyright code which does not
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permit copying. Remember that this law only says that you aren't
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guilty of computer crime if you reverse engineer. On the other
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hand, it is a very strong argument that you can reverse engineer
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at least in Mississippi other people's stuff.*/
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(iii) discovery under license or authority of the owner;
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(iv) observation of the property in public use or on
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public display; or
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(v) discovered in public literature.
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/* A clear instruction to mark any literature containing valuable
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data as "private literature." */
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(l) "Use" means to make use of, to convert to one's service,
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to avail oneself of or to employ. In the context of this act,
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"use" includes to instruct, communicated with, store data in
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or retrieve data from, or otherwise utilized the logical [,]
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arithmetic or memory functions of a computer.
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SECTION 97-45-3. Computer fraud; penalties.
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(1) Computer fraud is the accessing or causing to be accessed
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of any computer, computer system, computer network, or any part
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thereof with the intent to:
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(a) Defraud, or
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(b) To obtain money, property or services by means of false
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or fraudulent conduct, practices or representations; or through
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the false or fraudulent alteration, deletion or insertion of
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programs or data.
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(2) Whoever commits the offense of computer fraud shall be
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punished, upon conviction, by a fine of not more than Ten
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Thousand Dollars, or by imprisonment for not more than five
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years, or both by such fine and imprisonment.
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SECTION 97-45-5. Offense against computer users; penalties
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(1) An offense against computer users is the intentional:
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(a) denial to an authorized user, without consent, of
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the full and effective use of or access to a computer, a
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computer system, a computer network or computer
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services; or
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(b) use or disclosure to another, without consent, of
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the numbers, codes, passwords or other means of access
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to a computer, a computer system, a computer network, or
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computer services.
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(2) Whoever commits an offense against computer users shall
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be punished, upon conviction, by a fine of not more than One
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Thousand Dollars ($ 1,000), or by imprisonment for not more than
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six months, or by both such fine and imprisonment. However, when
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the damage or loss amounts to a value of One Hundred Dollars or
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more, the offender may be punished, upon convictions, by a fine
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of not more than Ten Thousand Dollars, or imprisonment for not
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more than 5 years, or by both such fine and imprisonment.
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SECTION 97-45-7. Offense against computer equipment, penalties.
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(1) An offense against intellectual property is the
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intentional:
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(a) Destruction, insertion or modification, without
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consent, of intellectual property; or
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(b) Disclosure, use, copying, taking or accessing,
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without consent, of intellectual property.
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(2) Whoever commits an offense against intellectual property
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shall be punished, upon conviction, by a fine of not more than
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One Thousand Dollars ($ 1,000), or by imprisonment for not more
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than six months, or by both such fine and imprisonment. However,
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when the damage or loss amounts to a value of One Hundred Dollars
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or more, the offender may be punished, upon convictions, by a
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fine of not more than Ten Thousand Dollars, or imprisonment for
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not more than 5 years, or by both such fine and imprisonment.
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(3) The provisions of this section shall not apply to the
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disclosure, use, copying, taking, or accessing by proper means as
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defined in this chapter.
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