Crazy Irving Agrees Not To Rent Computer Software Without License From
Publishers

Washington, D.C., Feb. 7, 1996 - The Software Publishers Association (SPA)
announced today that it has settled a lawsuit against Crazy Irving, a
large software retail organization in Montreal, Quebec. SPA filed suit
against six software retail stores - Crazy Irving, Jumbo Software and
Jumbo Software Guelph, two Gametronics stores and Softwarehouse - for
illegally renting SPA member software. Parliament amended the Canadian
Copyright Act in 1993 to include the rental of software as a distinct
right that cannot be exercised without the copyright holder's express
authorization.

As a part of the agreement, Crazy Irving has agreed not to rent computer
software in the future without an express written license from the
publisher, regardless of whether or not that software is in the form of
diskettes or on CD-ROM. Rental, as defined within the agreement, refers to
any sort of rental or evaluation arrangement, whether that be a "try
before you buy" or a "buy-back" plan.

From the outset of the suit, Crazy Irving has cooperated with SPA to settle
the lawsuit to both parties' satisfaction. Upon receiving notice of the
lawsuit, Crazy Irving advised SPA that it had already ceased to operate
its evaluation library. Sandra Sellers, SPA vice president of intellectual
property, education & enforcement, states, "We are pleased that we have
been able to come to an agreement with Crazy Irving. This suit and
settlement by a major software retailer sends a message to the industry as
a whole that the rental provisions of the Copyright Act will be
enforced."

The U.S. Copyright Act contains a similar provision concerning software
rental. In March 1995, a U.S. federal court ruled in favor of SPA members
in a civil copyright infringement suit against Global Software &
Accessories Inc. for unauthorized rental of computer software.

The software rental lawsuits in Canada are part of SPA's ongoing
anti-piracy activities. Since 1988, SPA has fought software piracy through
education and enforcement. SPA distributes free materials designed to
educate software users and to help businesses, government entities and
educational institutions manage their internal software practices. SPA
also has initiated thousands of lawsuits and audits on behalf of its
members against businesses, computer dealers, bulletin board services and
educational institutions that have violated its members' copyrights. SPA's
anti-piracy hotline, (800) 388-7478, accepts calls from throughout Canada
and the United States reporting software violations and requests for
information and materials. SPA may also be contacted on the Internet at
piracy@spa.org.

SPA's focus is on companies developing and publishing software applications
and interactive content. SPA is the leading trade association of the
desktop software industry, representing the leading publishers as well as
many start-up firms in the business, consumer and education markets. Its
1,200 members account for 90 percent of the sales of the U.S. packaged
software industry. SPA is an international organization with offices both
in the United States and Europe. SPA press releases are available through
CompuServe (GO:SPAFORUM), on SPA's Web site at http://www.spa.org or
through Fax-on-Demand at (800) 637-6823.

Software Publishers Association
1730 M St, Northwest, Suite 700, Washington, D.C. 20036
202-452-1600,  Fax: 202-223-8756
 
 =========================================================
 From the 'New Product News' Electronic News Service on...
 AOL (Keyword = New Products) and Delphi (GO COMP PROD)
 =========================================================
 This information was processed from data provided by the
 company/author mentioned. For additional details, please
 contact them directly at the address/phone# indicated.
 Trademarks are the property of their respective owners!
 =========================================================
 All submissions for this service should be addressed to:
 BAKER ENTERPRISES,  20 Ferro Dr,  Sewell, NJ  08080  USA
 Email:   rbakerpc@aol.com   --or--   rbakerpc@delphi.com
 =========================================================
