Andy
I warned the project manager that sure go ahead and use the data as a basis for programming but not for the production program.
A couple of months later, the competitors lawyers appeared and (cough) out of court (cough) settlement.
Never did find out how much it cost "my" software house...
In the end they had to employ a gaggle of impoverished undergrads to build their own DB.
So, be very very careful. It might be a good idea to *ask* if you can re-use the data - often it's possible for non commercial purposes...
Andy
(and the post grads were *worse* than the undergrads - complaining e.g. that I refused to do a standard deviation on three freaking results).
Working in a real lab is no guarentee though - remember that poor sad biochemist who was an expert on mecury toxicity who ended up killed by one drop of methyl mercury that seeped through her protective gloves?
Andy
(glad to play with considerably safer things like computers for many years)
An investigation by the BBC into cybercrime may itself have broken UK computer crime law.
Andy
A list is only as strong as its weakest link. -- Don Knuth