The World of Computer Software/World_Of_Computer_Software-02-386-Vol-2of3.iso/r/r&e_news.txt

Text File | 1993-02-11 | 6KB | 108 lines

February 10, 1993  From STARSHIP INDUSTRIES, Catalog sellers of Laser Video
Disc Software, and publishers of "The Laser Beam" Magazine.
Fax: [phone] Voice phone: [phone]   Leave EMAIL on the "EXEC PC",
Elm Grove, WI, (414)-789-4210, 2400 Baud, under the user name "DARK STAR".

                     ***********************************

     The chill is on folks, and the ICEMAN is your ole' Uncle Sam.

On Saturday, January 30, 1993, the FBI staged a raid on "Rusty & Edie's", a
computer bulletin board system located in Boardman, Ohio.  More information
on the raid is available in the file "R&E_BUST.TXT" which is posted on the
"EXEC PC" BBS.

Terri Childs, A staff member at the "Software Publishers Association",
(SPA) indicated to us by telephone today that the principle complaints
against Rusty & Edies rose out of the BBS posting of commercial software
copyrighted by SPA members.  "These programs would only appear on the board
at certain times", she said.  Titles would include game programs such as
"Mario Teaches Typing" and many others.  She further indicated that posting
of such commercial software was "not random" but "formed a specific
pattern", prompting FBI action.   When questioned as to how a BBS might
protect itself from users posting copyrighted software, Ms. Childs suggested
the BBS could contact the copyright holder to confirm clearance of any
program posted.  On the logistical difficulty of having to call about
thousands of programs, she reiterated the SPA's position that the BBS sysop
could call the software publisher to check on [each] program.

According to sources at Rusty & Edies, the FBI raid was achieved by forced
entry into the private home of the board's owners while no one was in the
residence.  In addition to the computer hardware and Software actually
seized, the owners claimed to have suffered extensive property damage to
both their home and belongings as a result of the raid.

Complicating matters for Rusty and Edies are recent court cases regarding
property seizures.  Steming mostly from drug and tax related actions, courts
now require separate legal hearings for the recovery of lost property and
related damages even when the defendant(s) are cleared of all charges.

Unlike individuals, the courts have ruled that property is not considered to
be protected by constitutional guarantees.  Even when a property owner is
proven innocent, current court precedence places the burden of proof on the
owner to "clear" his property from accusations of being used or obtained
from illegal activities.  The process of "clearing" property can be both
time consuming and costly in legal fees.  It is not usual to see on a
federal the court docket a case such as "THE UNITED STATES Vs THE 1992
MERCADES BENZ".  The owner must act as advocate councel for his Mercades
Benz if he ever hopes to get it back.

In addition, there is the open admission by Law enforcement agencies (both
federal and local) that revenues form seized property are returned to
bolster their operating budgets.  There is every incentive for an officer
or agent to find any cause to seize a potential suspect's property.

Reports of abuses are surfacing nationwide.  In Washington, DC, it has been
reported that DC City police officers have often stopped pedestrian in "high
drug use" neighborhoods.  The officer demands the surrender of all cash on
the suspicion that any money carried in these areas of the city could be
used for purchasing drugs.  Once the cash is surrendered, the pedestrian is
sent on his way without any charges made or receipt given for the seized
money.  Under threat of possible arrest or accusation of "resisting an
officer," few citizens are inclined to resist such a shakedown.







In an other area of Washington, DC, commuters driving through key areas are
be stopped and their auto seized upon the suspicion of "solicitation for
prostitution".  While prostitution problems in the neighborhood may be
genuine, there have a number of complaints from citizens who were
subsequently cleared of charges but were unable to recover their vehicle
without being forced to take separate legal actions.

While the potential case against "Rusty & Edies" is far from settled, it is
quite possible the copyright violations may be no more than a mixture of
well meaning (but ignorant of the law) user uploads and slow verification
and file deletion by the R&E staff.  On many boards, new uploaded files
automatically post with the uploaders description attached.  It is only
when the sysop, or his employees, screen the upload list that unsuitable
files can be caught and deleted.

Faced with the gruelling choice of individual file verification, or a
possible catastrophic property loss from seizure, few BBS sysops are going
to be willing to maintain the open free flow of data files that users enjoy
today.   Add to this the hackers often remove copyright identification from
many files.  In the eyes of the law, an altered file that no longer
displays copyright protection is still the property of it's owner.


In summery...

The burden of proof to clear copyright for each file is now squarely on the
BBS sysops, the threat of widespread raids is clear, and the burden of
recovering seized property is on the all of us, innocent and guilty alike.

The loss to all users is beyond question.  The days of small independent
BBS's offering huge libraries of software may be numbered.  This is
particularly true for those "accessory" files that enhance existing
commercial software packages.  The process of verifying every file is just
to difficult.

The next time you need a printer driver from the Word Perfect conference,
or a debugged utility for Microsoft Windows, chances are it will no longer
be there, even though the publisher might allow it.