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