United States v. Seidlitz

589 F.2d 152 (1978)

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United States v. Seidlitz

United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
589 F.2d 152 (1978)

AR

Facts

Bertram Seidlitz (defendant) was employed at Optimum Systems, Inc., a computer company, where he had access to a software system known as WYLBUR. After six months, Seidlitz resigned and returned to work at his own computer firm. Six months after Seidlitz’s resignation, an Optimum employee discovered that an unauthorized intruder in Optimum’s computers was copying the WYLBUR source code through a telephone connection. A manual trace of the connection traced it back to Seidlitz’s office. Seidlitz was charged under the federal wire-fraud statute, which made it unlawful to fraudulently obtain the property of another by means of wire, radio, or television communication. At trial, Seidlitz argued that he had only taken the source code to show Optimum that its computer security was too weak and that there was no evidence that he used the software in his own business or to sell to others. Additionally, Seidlitz argued that the WYLBUR software was not property within the meaning of the wire-fraud statute, because systems similar to WYLBUR were used at other companies. The district court convicted Seidlitz, and Seidlitz appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Field, J.)

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