THE MISAPPROPRIATION OF COMMERCIAL INFORMATION IN THE COMPUTER AGE

Abstract

The rapid proliferation of computers and their now wide-spread application in Canadian society poses difficult new questions for lawyers. The intangible information stored in computers routinely has critical value to businessmen and others, but is not easily brought within traditional legal doctrines and remedies. This article canvasses the legal protection which is presently available for the protection of such computer generated information and various possibilities for reform of the law. It argues that, in the context of information-based societies, adequate law reform will require much more than the application of simplistic proprietary remedies. Instead, it is argued, a proper appreciation of the marry elements of the public interest which are legitimately at stake in fashioning new statutory solutions is required.