Access

The term access is used in the information technology and IT law contexts in a number of different ways. The following sections discuss some of the contexts in which the term "access" is used.

Copyright law
Under U.S. copyright law, the term "access" means the “opportunity to review the copyrighted work.” In traditional copyright infringement analysis, if the plaintiff cannot establish that the defendant copied a work by direct evidence, it can satisfy its burden of proof by showing that the defendant had access to the copyrighted work, and that the two works are substantially similar.

Computer Fraud and Abuse Act
“For purposes of the CFAA, when someone sends an e-mail message from his or her own computer, and the message then is transmitted through a number of other computers until it reaches its destination, the sender is making use of all of those computers, and is therefore ‘accessing’ them.”

State computer crime laws
In the area of computer crime, the term "access" is often used as an element of a criminal act. For example, under the California computer crime statute, the term "access" is defined as
 * to gain entry to, instruct, or communicate with the logical, arithmetical, or memory function resources of a computer, computer system, or computer network.

In the Washington state computer crime law, "access" is defined as:
 * to approach, instruct, communicate with, store data in, retrieve data from, or otherwise make use of any resources of a computer, directly or by electronic means.

Government surveillance
In connection with surveillance by law enforcement, the term "access" has been defined as:
 * The technical capability to interface with a communications facility, such as a communications line or switch, so that law enforcement can monitor and receive call setup information and call content.

Internet
“Individuals have a wide variety of avenues to access cyberspace in general, and the Internet in particular. In terms of physical access, there are two common methods to establish an actual link to the Internet. First, one can use a computer or computer terminal that is directly (and usually permanently) connected to a computer network that is itself directly or indirectly connected to the Internet. Second, one can use a ‘personal computer’ with a ‘modem’ to connect over a telephone line to a larger computer or computer network that is itself directly or indirectly connected to the Internet.”