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1998-03-25
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ISPs hit with piracy suit
By Nick Wingfield
October 10, 1996, 11 a.m. PT
As part of an escalating crackdown on Internet
software piracy, the Software Publishers
Association this week filed civil lawsuits against
three Internet service providers, alleging that the
ISPs' customers are violating software copyrights.
As previously reported by CNET, the SPA--a
trade organization that counts Microsoft, Netscape
Communications, and Apple Computer among its
members--is increasingly focusing its antipiracy
efforts on ISPs. Late last month, a small Georgia
ISP, Intergate, reluctantly closed down a user's
personal Web page after the SPA said it contained
hyperlinks to hacker Web sites containing
copyright violations.
Intergate is one of 22 ISPs that complied with a
letter from the SPA entitled the "ISP Code of
Conduct", which asked the ISPs to monitor their
networks for pirated software. This week, the
SPA filed its lawsuit alleging contributory copyright
infringement against the three ISPs that didn't
agree to sign the ISP code of conduct.
The ISPs named in this week's lawsuit include
Community Connexion, GeoCities, and Tripod.
The SPA filed the lawsuit on behalf of three
software companies, Adobe Systems, Claris, and
Travelling Software. Products from the three
companies were among the software that was
distributed illegally on the ISPs' networks.
"Our first tact was to get ISPs on the right side of
the copyright battle," Sandra Sellers, vice
president of intellectual property, education, and
enforcement at the SPA, said today. "We don't
want to go after ISPs. We want to work with
them."
But Intergate and online civil rights group,
Electronic Frontiers Georgia, believe that the
SPA's efforts to combat software piracy may
compromise the privacy and free speech rights of
Netizens, especially if ISPs are roped in as
enforcers of copyright infringement lawsuits.
In the Intergate case, for example, the ISP's
servers did not actually host pirated software. The
page that was removed was written by a user
nicknamed "Tapu" and merely linked to other Web
sites with so-called codes for cracking into
programs.
"We had no pirated software on the system at all,"
said Jeff McGough, president of Intergate.
"Information cannot be made illegal. It was a
pointer. We should be able to put that page back
up."
Some legal experts are concerned that this SPA's
policy may be stretching the limits of existing
copyright laws to try and account for alleged
online violations.
"The SPA is trying to push the law well beyond
where it has been in the past," said Scott McClain,
a lawyer specializing in first amendment and
copyright issues at Bondurant, Mixson, & Elmore
in Atlanta. "Intergate was being accused of
assisting someone who was assisting someone
who was assisting someone in copyright
infringement."
McClain said the SPA's efforts may make ISPs
quicker to censor users out of fear of legal action.
"Focusing on the ISP runs the risk of squelching
speech without letting the courts decide," he said.
"The ISP has a lot of incentive not to get involved
in litigation for someone else. You get a letter from
the SPA lawyer, and it's a lot cheaper for the ISP
to lose one customer than to fight it in court."
Association officials were unclear about whether
providing hyperlinks to pirated software really
constitutes an act of copyright infringement.
"We don't have all the answers now," said Mark
Traphagen, an SPA vice president. "It's going to
be an evolving process."
Electronic Frontiers Georgia has posted a Web
page as part of an effort to monitor the
controversy sparked by the Intergate incident.
The SPA has already demonstrated its seriousness
in chasing pirates into court. In addition to multiple
lawsuits filed against corporations and commercial
pirates, the association filed a lawsuit in July
against Max Butler in the U.S. District Court in
Seattle, accusing him of illegally distributing
software on the Internet.
The organization said it filed the suit after receiving
a tip that Butler illegally distributed software to
friends by uploading it to an FTP site operated by
Abwam, a small Internet service provider.
Copyright ⌐ 1996 CNET Inc. All rights reserved.