CompuServe Messages

Well, Don't think I condone their stuff in any way at all, but I wondered what EXACTLY viewpoint can get them for? Is it illegal to tell someone a number? Is it relevant that that number happens to be a key to unlock software on a CD which was obtained legally? I think the theft occurs at the moment a user accesses an object she hasn't paid for, or maybe when she renders it. The people selling the keys may not be doing anything illegal. Or they may be in a conspiracy to defraud… If I set a program to crack the viewpoint object locks by brute force, would my success be illegal? They give away the CD-ROM free, does it have some sort of use agreement on the envelope? I submit that at our current "Electronic Frontier" state of ill-fitting laws, undereducated Lawyers and Judges, one may as well flip a coin. Or have I missed something 8-o