Reprinted with permission from CNET News
Information Technology Continues to Advance at Warp Speed, and the Law Struggles to Catch up.
When new laws have not yet been enacted to address emerging areas of Internet disputes, courts are called upon to try to use and mold ancient legal theories to achieve high-tech resolution. Trespass is one of the ancient legal theories relied upon more and more by courts that are grappling with Internet cases.
For example, in the recent case of Thomas Kerrins v. Intermix Media, Inc., a federal court in Los Angeles held that trespass was a viable legal theory to address the alleged distribution of spyware and adware programs.
As the court noted, spyware and adware track a computer user's online browsing habits for purposes of sending targeted pop-up advertisements to the user. In return for a fee, the distributors assist online marketers to place advertisements that use their spyware and adware.
