Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Ask HN: I found documents on the backseat of a taxi. Can I legally use them?

news.ycombinator.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

51–60 of 86 posts

Re: Ask HN: I found documents on the backseat of a taxi. Can I legally use them?

#51

Post by ck2 »

Dylan16807 wrote: post #40
ck2 wrote: post #4

I have just found your netbook on the backseat of a taxi with it already logged into your bank account. So that makes it okay to transfer your life savings to my account, right?

No, this is about whether it's okay for you to remember how much money is in the account, and act on that in some manner in the future. Nobody is stealing anything. They can have the pieces of paper back if they want them.

Okay, I found your netbook with your entire life's work of research, literally decades, into a new material which apparently you are about to patent.

So I will just email myself a copy of your work and patent it before you can.

No harm then right, it is just a copy.

Re: Ask HN: I found documents on the backseat of a taxi. Can I legally use them?

#52

Post by lostlogin »

bsullivan01 wrote: post #18

First thing I would have done, NOT F*CKING POST on HN. The person that lost it reads too and so do his friends. Second, if you wanted to you might used part of it you would have to be very careful and pair it with something totally yours. Oh, and laws vary from country to country. Ethics are a different thing

Ah, this is very close to >don't be a dick<. Why is it so hard to get people to follow this rule?

Re: Ask HN: I found documents on the backseat of a taxi. Can I legally use them?

#53

Post by nitrogen »

rwallace wrote: post #48
jacalata wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes. A friend was recommending her accountant the other day- she said initially it put her off that he didn't do his own taxes, but he explained that doing your own taxes is like representing yourself in court - even if you're qualified to do it for others, you should never do it for yourself.

So why exactly are you advised not to do your own taxes or represent yourself in court even if qualified? (Not a rhetorical question; I'm curious about the answer.)

The penalty for you making a mistake is higher than the penalty for your accountant/lawyer making a mistake. By "penalty" I mean negative consequences, not just explicit fines.

Re: Ask HN: I found documents on the backseat of a taxi. Can I legally use them?

#54

Post by thyrsus »

dmourati wrote: post #35
ramchip wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> As far as insider trader, I don't suspect a random person who stumbled upon such data lawfully could be found guilty of any crime for using it. That sounds like terrible advice to me. See this for example: http://www.investopedia.com/articles/03/100803.asp > Oftentimes, people accused of the crime claim that they just overheard someone talking. Take for example a neighbor who overhears a conversation between a CEO…

I don't think you read that article closely enough, nor my comment for that matter. Consider this, how would the fact that you took a random ride in the same cab as the "tipper" ever be established? In other words, what would be the basis of the insider information allegation? How would they ever know?

If it were worth the trouble: cell phone location records, taxi credit card transaction records, or taxi dispatcher records.

Re: Ask HN: I found documents on the backseat of a taxi. Can I legally use them?

#55

Post by rwallace »

nitrogen wrote: post #53
rwallace wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So why exactly are you advised not to do your own taxes or represent yourself in court even if qualified? (Not a rhetorical question; I'm curious about the answer.)

The penalty for you making a mistake is higher than the penalty for your accountant/lawyer making a mistake. By "penalty" I mean negative consequences, not just explicit fines.

Okay, what sort of negative consequences? And why does having someone else make the mistakes on your behalf protect you from the consequences?

Re: Ask HN: I found documents on the backseat of a taxi. Can I legally use them?

#56

Post by notahacker »

tonfa wrote: post #28
manojlds wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Does using the information on the document mean whoever misplaced is going to lose something? Probably not. My point is, the OP's case and your example about the wallet are not the same. PS: if I were the OP I would try to return or destroy them.

> Does using the information on the document mean whoever misplaced is going to lose something? Probably not. Depending on information, how it is used, etc. I can imagine him losing his job.

More to the point, why does it matter whether the people being taken advantage of are the ones who originally lost the document? If the information has value to the OP other than satisfying personal curiosity, it's likely to be because they can exploit those who stand to lose from its disclosure, especially given the way the original post was worded.

If the OP has found information that will genuinely allow him to place stock trades at an advantage to the rest of the market then some people are going to lose something.

Re: Ask HN: I found documents on the backseat of a taxi. Can I legally use them?

#58

Post by james1071 »

pseingatl wrote: post #2

1. The texts are subject to copyright. You have to treat them as you would any other copyrighted text. 2. You can trade on the information in the capital markets. The information was disclosed to you inadvertently. You are not an insider, you did not conspire with anyone to to violate the law. 3. The physical papers still belong to the owner. You may have custody of them, but you do not own them. With respect to trad…

You have not got a clue what you are talking about.

Re: Ask HN: I found documents on the backseat of a taxi. Can I legally use them?

#59

Post by kkjain »

[ (Ur on HN => ur top 1% of world on # of v v important metrics and intellectual gifts) + (Ur asking advice => u have instincts and ability) ] => high oppty cost of ur time.

My_Op => prob huge neg val even thinking about this.

Long Term: moral reasons aside, its simply highly unlikely to net add personal value.

Short Term: payoff is blindingly quantifiable, but lots of hidden costs easy to overlook => not a good likely outcome situation.

Ex 1: "not wasting energy with lawyers" is a luxury, both massively positive value and systematically + tragically under-valued by general people

Re: Ask HN: I found documents on the backseat of a taxi. Can I legally use them?

#60

Post by chris_wot »

If the information is not available to the general public and you use it, then that's insider trading. Don't use the documents to trade.

If the documents were misplaced, and you take them, then that's theft. Hand them in to the police. Don't use them.

Post reply on HN