



In most cases information you come by properly is yours to use as you wish,
but there are certainly exceptions.  If you write a paper which includes
sufficiently detailed information on how to build a nuclear weapon, it is
classified.  As I understand the law, nuclear weapons design is
_automatically_ classified even if you do the work yourself.  I believe you
are then not allowed to read your own paper.

A less serious example: if you tell drivers about a speed trap they are
about to run into, you can be fined, even though you might argue that you
broke no law when you discovered the location of the policeman.  The charge
is interfering with a police officer, which is quite similar what you would
be doing by reverse engineering the Clipper chip.

Don't tell me that you think this violates the Constitution -- find some
court cases which have struck down such laws.  Many people would not be
comforted by the fact that the government violated their rights when it
imprisoned them.
