68 lines
3.9 KiB
Plaintext
68 lines
3.9 KiB
Plaintext
.FBI raids major Ohio computer bulletin board; action follows joint
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investigation with SPA
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The Federation Bureau of Investigation on Saturday, Jan. 30, 1993, raided
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"Rusty & Edie's," a computer bulletin board located in Boardman, Ohio,
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which has allegedly been illegally distributing copyrighted software
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programs. Seized in the raid on the Rusty & Edie's bulletin board were
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computers, hard disk drives and telecommunications equipment, as well as
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financial and subscriber records. For the past several months, the Software
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Publishers Association ("SPA") has been working with the FBI in
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investigating the Rusty & Edie's bulletin board, and as part of that
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investigation has downloaded numerous copyrighted business and
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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 Rusty & Edie's BBS. The Rusty & Edie's bulletin board
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was one of the largest private bulletin boards in the country. It had 124
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nodes available to callers and over 14,000 subscribers throughout the
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United States and several foreign countries. To date, the board has logged
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in excess of 3.4 million phone calls, with new calls coming in at the rate
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of over 4,000 per day. It was established in 1987 and had expanded to
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include over 19 gigabytes of storage housing over 100,000 files available
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to subscribers for downloading. It had paid subscribers throughout the
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United States and several foreign countries, including Canada, Luxembourg,
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France, Germany, Finland, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and the United
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Kingdom.
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A computer bulletin board allows personal computer users to access a host
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computer by a modem-equipped telephone to exchange information, including
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messages, files, and computer programs. The systems operator (Sysop) is
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generally responsible for the operation of the bulletin board and
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determines who is allowed to access the bulletin board and under what
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conditions. For a fee of $89.00 per year, subscribers to the Rusty & Edie's
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bulletin board were given access to the board's contents including many
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popular copyrighted business and entertainment packages. Subscribers could
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"download" or receive these files for use on their own computers without
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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 understands
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the seriousness of software piracy." The SPA is actively working with the
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FBI in the investigation of computer bulletin boards, and similar raids on
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other boards are expected shortly. Whether it's copied from a program
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purchased at a neighborhood computer store or downloaded from a bulletin
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board thousands of miles away, pirated software adds to the cost of
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computing. According to the SPA, in 1991, the software industry lost $1.2
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billion in the U.S. alone. Losses internationally are several billion
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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 Association
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is the principal trade association of the personal computer software
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industry. It's over 1,000 members represent the leading publishers in the
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business, consumer and education software markets. The SPA has offices in
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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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