Publication Type

Journal Article

Version

publishedVersion

Publication Date

3-2007

Abstract

The common law doctrine of trespass to chattels has recently been revived and applied by courts in the United States (US) to cover intrusions (in the form of electronic signals) to computer systems connected to the Internet. These cases represent judicial recognition of the need to protect certain unwanted intrusions in cyberspace, though the principles developed therewith are remarkably expansive. As such, they overlap with the concept of ‘unauthorized access’ under computer misuse legislation in the US and elsewhere. This overlap has yet to be judicially acknowledged. Since the US, the United Kingdom and other common law countries not only share a common law ancestry but also ‘unauthorized access’ principles as the primary trigger for computer misuse, this paper seeks to examine the consequences of developing a broad cyber-trespass doctrine beyond the US, and its corresponding implications for judicial interpretations of ‘unauthorized access’ in the common law world.

Discipline

Internet Law

Research Areas

Innovation, Technology and the Law

Publication

International Journal of Law and Information Technology

Volume

15

Issue

1

First Page

90

Last Page

128

ISSN

0967-0769

Identifier

10.1093/ijlit/eal014

Publisher

Oxford University Press

Embargo Period

12-12-2018

Copyright Owner and License

Author

Additional URL

https://doi.org/10.1093/ijlit/eal014

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