Loss valuation

Loss valuation

One of the most difficult issues in computer crime is valuation. If the asset that has been damaged or taken is freely traded, like a personal computer or even a custom-made computer program, calculating the market value is usually adequate. Where, however, the question is the value of a piece of software that has never been marketed, the value of the continued operation of a computer system, or the value of computer time that is not normally sold, valuation is much more difficult.

Various measures of value are found in computer crime laws. In Connecticut, value equals market value or replacement cost at the time of violation.FN54 Montana has a definition similar to Connecticut's. It provides that the value of electronic impulses, electronically produced data or information or any other tangible or intangible item relating to a computer, shall be considered to be the amount of economic loss that the owner of the item might reasonably suffer by virtue of the loss of the item. The determination of the amount of such economic loss includes but is not limited to consideration of the value of the owner's right to exclusive use or disposition of the item."FN55