Can't that be said for everything?
Bees.
A confidentiality agreement trumps that notion. If the guy signed an NDA and then violated the NDA within its duration, he can be sued by TRT. The court can also grant an injunction against Facebook, even though they were not involved in the NDA, from utilizing that information... and Facebook can rightfully sue the person they got it from as well.
Of course, that's all assuming that the guy really did violate a confidentiality agreement. For all we know, TRT's claims may be entirely specious.
IANAL, but I've worked for companies that have confidentiality agreements, and they can and do take breaking them very seriously.
it would surely look on the Internet for how humanity would treat a self-aware AI.
How does the Internet know how humanity would treat a self-aware AI when it hasn't happened yet? Or are you thinking that an AI would interpret works of science fiction as factual?
Y can't be sued for anything if they do not know that it was originally confidential, but they *CAN* be sued for using said information after they have learned that it was misappropriated, which they could learn very shortly afterwards. Sort of like how you can't be prosecuted for buying stolen merchandise from someone else if you didn't realize that it was stolen, but you aren't allowed to keep what you bought once its origin has come to light. You are, however, allowed to sue the person you bought it from. In the case of a broken confidentiality agreement or NDA, it's my understanding that if the information has only been transferred to one party, then the court grants an injunction against the party from utilizing that information, and that party can claim legitimate damages from the party that they acquired it from. The situation you describe is only applicable in a circumstance where the confidential information was revealed to the general public, and the "genie is out of the bottle", as it were.
Of course, all of this is applicable to the story were are discussing only if the guy who sold the Rift to Facebook was not actually entitled to do so.
Sure... Quote only part of my post out of context, and state that you disagree with it as if it stood alone, all the while completely omitting the part where I said it would only matter if the site were located in the USA in the first place.
Obviously if the site is not hosted in the USA then there is no issue that the USA could have with the site... although the uploader of such content, *if located in the USA*, could still be held accountable for said export if they were able to identify them.
If this guy really used Total Recall's confidential IP, which I'm not saying necessarily happened, but it seems like it may be possible, then Facebook's acquisition would be void... and they could sue the person they bought it from for no less than every single cent that they spent buying it out, probably with interest, and punative damages thrown in for good measure.
This company is working within what I understand is the legally permissable 5-year limitation on NDA's in the high technology industry (albeit only just barely), so if OR is really based on misappropriated IP from that company, then Facebook is no more authorized to use the tech without Total Recall's permission than this guy was authorized to sell it.
Total Recall could, of course, license the tech to Facebook, and probably make a tidy profit while doing so.
But I won't dispute that Java has changed the face of programming when comparing worlds before it existed and after, although many languages can make that claim, including C, and probably C++. I'd not be surprised if even BASIC could not be said to have had such a dramatic influence on programming. Fortran and COBOL would be up there as well, possibly even greater than most of the others combined.
"If it ain't broke, don't fix it." - Bert Lantz
