Freedoms, Privacy and Data Protection help

"Samson works for MagicTracks Ltd., helping to build a database of music industry people and products, with linked music and video clips. Access to the database is sold, as a service, e.g. to people who want to find suitable artists for use in adverts and films. Clients rent
access by the hour.

They can also hire a room with a large video screen and quality sound system. Samson notices that lots of music is downloaded from the web and used to create the tracks that are accessed through the database. The video clips are often copied from rented videos. Working arrangements are pretty informal.

Samson got involved with MagicTracks after visiting the offices to see a friend of his, Wing Lam, works there. Samson was asked to help out with some work, for which he got paid. He's now been working there essentially full-time for two months, but still regards himself as just helping out really, rather than an employee. He gets paid weekly and is quite happy with the arrangement.

Samson's had an idea about developing a similar service for locations. He knows that some firms provide indexed photographs of locations for subscribers to browse when looking for a location e.g. for an advert, film, product launch or party. He's thinking of building a similar system but with video clips. He knows he can use a lot of the video clips they already have and could gather more himself. He asks some senior people in the business,
who says it sounds interesting. Samson thinks that if they like it what he produces, he'll be able to sell it. He wants to use some of the same software as used in the MagicTracks system, and when he looks at the code he finds it is licensed under the GNU General Public
License The GNU Operating System). Samson starts working on his location system, and spends all his spare time on it.

One day Wing Lam is sitting at the reception desk when a client, Gopal, comes out of the viewing room and asks if someone could move the video screen. Wing Lam knows it is heavy so she phones the office manager to ask what to do. The manager says "sure, I'll send a couple of guys shortly. Don't let the client start moving stuff around in there, it all cost a fortune and needs careful handling." After half and hour, no-one has turned up to move the
equipment, so the client demands that Wing Lam help him move it so he can finish his work. Together they just manage to lift the five foot high screen but it slips
and falls, breaking the client's foot and two of Wing Lam's ribs. The screen then falls forward and shatters on the floor.

MagicTracks refuses to pay Wing Lam while she is off sick, saying it is her own fault. When she phones up to complain, the office manager says "well, you weren't much good at the job, so don't bother coming back. And don't bother making a claim, if you don't want to see footage of you in a drunken rage at the office party appearing on the web".

Just before Christmas office manager emailed Wing Lam several crude sexual jokes, adding "check the attached picture !!!!". Later she mentioned this to Samson, who said : "you must forward that to me", so she did. Samson has passed this to Magic Tracks Director Dave. Dave is considering dismissing the office manager based on the “crude sexual jokes” email.

Gopal is self-employed and sues MagicTracks for loss of earnings. He claims that a valuable new contract fell through because of the accident, and he wants compensation. He is worried though that releasing evidence of his claim will breach strict confidentiality
agreements and data protection laws.

Samson demonstrates his location search software to directors of MagicTracks. They decide to offer it as a service. Samson proposes they pay him £25,000 for it, but they look puzzled and say that since he was working for them while developing it they have already paid him. Samson counters that he wrote it all in his own time. He wonders now whether he can sell his software to another firm, or market a service based on it himself, over the
web."