Legal Question in Technology Law in California

Re: stolen photos from computer

You'd have better luck prosecuting a civil action against the thief for conversion. Contact me directly.

Re: stolen photos from computer

Your question used the word "download", which I will presume to mean "copied."

The previous answers fail to address copyright issues. Self-photos should, by definition, result in ownership of the copyright by the person in the image. If you were to register for copyrights in the photos, then you would have both a civil claim and a criminal theft charge.

The real question, which the other attorneys have also failed to address, is whether you want these photos to become part of a public record. It would be extraordinarily expensive to keep these photos private while simultaneously proceeding with claims against the thief.

In any case, the ultimate answer to your question is "Yes". It is a criminal offense to copy private material for any of a multitude of reasons under the factual scenario you have presented. The question is whether you are willing to publish first, in either a copyright registration or a criminal complaint, or both...

Re: stolen photos from computer

You could have a case, but you would have vast problems of proof, much of the case would either be expensive expert witness testimony about what was on whose computer, when, and/or he said-she said testimony about who did or not give permission for what.

Assume that anything embarrassing that you put on a computer connected to the internet will be hacked and posted to TMZ or thesmokinggun.

Re: stolen photos from computer

Mr. Stone's answer apparently addresses the problems of a civil action, and I agree that if you were to bring a civil action you would have these problems, not to mention the fact that the usual purpose of a civil action is to get money damages, and that would require proof of monetary harm or something else that can be dollarized. In general, trespassory prying without some kind of harm other than to your pride is not compensated with damages, so you might either (a) not have a case at all, or (b) would "win" and get $1 in nominal damages.

A possible criminal case would face similar hurdles. Although most criminal cases start out with a police report, either on their own instigation or upon a citizen's complaint, nothing goes to court unless and until a DA decides to file an information or indictment, and they are so busy with serious felonies that they are unlikely to be interested in going after someone who was looking for cheap pornography.