67 lines
3.8 KiB
Plaintext
67 lines
3.8 KiB
Plaintext
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FBI raids major San Fernado valley computer bulletin board;
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action follows joint investigation with SPA
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The Federation Bureau of Investigation on Tuesday, Sep. 13, 1994,
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raided "Moonbeams," a computer bulletin board located in Northridge,
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CA, which has allegedly been illegally distributing copyrighted
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software programs. Seized in the raid on the Moonbeams bulletin
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board were computers, hard disk drives and telecommunications equipment,
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as well as financial and subscriber records. For the past several
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months, the Software Publishers Association ("SPA") has been working
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with the FBI in investigating the Moonbeams bulletin board, and as
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part of that investigation has downloaded numerous copyrighted business
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and entertainment programs from the board.
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The SPA investigation was initiated following the receipt of complaints
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from a number of SPA members that their software was being illegally
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distributed on the Moonbeams BBS. The Moonbeams bulletin board. It had
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2 nodes available to callers and over 6,000 subscribers throughout
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the United States and several foreign countries. To date, the board has
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logged in excess of 1 million phone calls, with new calls coming in at
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the rate of over 250 per day. It was established in 1987 and had
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expanded to include over 6 gigabytes of storage housing over 10,000
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files available to subscribers for downloading. It had paid subscribers
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throughout the United States and several foreign countries, including
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Canada, Luxembourg, France, Germany, Finland, the Netherlands, Spain,
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Sweden and the United Kingdom.
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A computer bulletin board allows personal computer users to access a
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host computer by a modem-equipped telephone to exchange information,
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including messages, files, and computer programs. The systems operator
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(Sysop) is generally responsible for the operation of the bulletin board
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and determines who is allowed to access the bulletin board and under
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what conditions. For a fee of $49.00 per year, subscribers to the Moon-
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beam's bulletin board were given access to the board's contents
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including many popular copyrighted business and entertainment packages.
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Subscribers could "download" or receive these files for use on their own
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computers without having to pay the copyrighted owner anything for them.
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"The SPA applauds the FBI's action today," said Ilene Rosenthal, general
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counsel for the SPA. "This shows that the FBI recognizes the harm that
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theft of intellectual property causes to one of the U.S.'s most vibrant
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industries. It clearly demonstrates a trend that the government
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understands the seriousness of software piracy." The SPA is actively
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working with the FBI in the investigation of computer bulletin boards,
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and similar raids on other boards are expected shortly. Whether it's
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copied from a program purchased at a neighborhood computer store or
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downloaded from a bulletin board thousands of miles away, pirated
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software adds to the cost of computing. According to the SPA, in 1991,
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the software industry lost $1.2 billion in the U.S. alone. Losses
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internationally are several billion dollars more.
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"Many people may not realize that software pirates cause prices to be
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higher, in part, to make up for publisher losses from piracy," says Ken
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Wasch, executive director of the SPA. In addition, they ruin the
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reputation of the hundreds of legitimate bulletin boards that serve an
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important function for computer users." The Software Publishers
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Association is the principal trade association of the personal computer
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software industry. It's over 1,000 members represent the leading
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publishers in the business, consumer and education software markets.
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The SPA has offices in Washington DC, and Paris, France.
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CONTACT: Software Publishers Association, Washington
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Ilene Rosenthal, 202/452-1600 Ext. 318
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Terri Childs, 202/452-1600 Ext. 320
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