Comment by noitpmeder

11 hours ago

I mean in the first case you're literally stealing from your employer. If that doesn't make you a criminal for theft I don't know what does

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noitpmeder

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opello  11 hours ago

But the footage isn't "real property" as I understand it. The only thing the theft does is deprive the company from the opportunity to sell the footage themselves, and it's not exactly like selling security camera footage is the business model of many/any(?) company.

If the harm is that the company couldn't sell the footage itself, the remedy should be giving the company the money from the sale.

  • otterley  10 hours ago

    It’s a common misconception that “property” relates to physical objects (chattel) or land (real property). But that’s an incorrect and limited understanding. More generally, it’s about the right to control something and exclude others from using it.

    Copyright, for example, is what’s known as “intellectual property.” Its rights protect intangible things, namely, artistic expressions.

    • opello  9 hours ago

      I think I did understand that, specifically contrasting real property and intellectual property, but maybe wrongfully implied that theft could only apply to real property.

      However, is there any argument for security camera footage like this instance to be considered a trade secret? Isn't that the only type of intellectual property it might be? It seems like if the business wasn't planning to derive economic value from the sale of the security camera footage (which seems like a generally safe assumption) it would fail to acquire trade secret protections.

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