Ancient Legal Doctrine Forbids Computer Spyware

Via Instapundit (see blogroll) I learned of this story:

A federal trial court in Chicago has ruled recently that the ancient legal doctrine of trespass to chattels (meaning trespass to personal property) applies to the interference caused to home computers by spyware. Information technology has advanced at warp speed with the law struggling to keep up, and this is an example of a court needing to use historical legal theories to grapple with new and previously unforeseen contexts in Cyberspace....

The lesson here is that companies and individuals must be mindful that even though specific laws may not yet be on the books with respect to new types of online conduct, traditional legal principles may be applied by the courts, with potentially significant consequences. Prudence suggests that attorneys who are expert on Internet issues should be consulted when a company or an individual is not sure that certain behavior on the Web potentially could create liability.