/* 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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