Date: 23 Jan 93 13:22:55 PST From: Jim Thomas Subject: File 7--The BSA, APL BBS, and Anti-Piracy Crackdowns Since the press release submitted above, the Business Software Alliance (BSA) case against APL has been settled (in November, '92). The APL BBS, also known as "The Great American Exchange" in Baltimore, Maryland, was raided on 1 October. According to BSA spokespersons and court documents, the estimated value of the software seized was worth over $100,000. A BSA press release indicates that the organization is currently reviewing APL's records for possible additional legal action against system users who may have illegally uploaded or downloaded copyright programs. It should be noted that the raid occured prior to the enactment of PL 102-561, signed into law on October 28, 1992, which criminalizes a low threshold of software duplication and dissemination. According to Arter and Hadden, a Washington, D.C. law firm representing BSA and Nintendo of America, the case was resolved with a court order that issued a permanent injunction against the defendant from resuming operations, and the equipment on which the board ran was seized and will be turned over to BSA as part of the settlement. Although the $25,000 estimate of the value of the equipment seems over-estimated, the list of seized property indicates a substantial loss. Seized property included two HST modems, nearly a dozen cases of floppy disks, several boxes of data tapes, hard drives, a scanner, two tower CPUs, a fax machine, and other equipment. The case was brought as a federal civil action (MJG 92-2757) in the U.S. District Court of Maryland. The investigation was conducted by Software Security International on behalf of the BSA. According to a BSA press release, the three Federal Marshalls participating in the raid were Ricardo Guzman, Dave Hinman, and Kurt Vogan. The BSA, founded in 1988, is a coalitionion of eight high-revenue software companies: 1) Apple Computer 2) Autodesk 3) Central Point Software 4) Lotus Development 5) Microsoft 6) Novell 7) Symantec, and 8) Word Perfect. These eight companies have about 71 percent of the world's packaged software market, according to BSA officials. A BSA spokesperson explained that the organization prefers to think of itself as a coalition rather than a professional association. Like the Software Publishers Association, the group aims to eradicate software piracy but, also like the SPA, engages in other activities that include education about copyright law, working with legislators and law enforcement on policy and legislative issues to toughen especially international anti-piracy laws, and working with customs agents to alert them to the problems of identifying software purchased overseas and imported back into the U.S. Although the BSA focuses primarily on international piracy, it has recently turned its attention to domestic concerns. According to a press release, the APL case was its first legal action in the U.S. According to BSA spokesperson Diane Smiroldo, the BSA represents its eight members in their fight against piracy in more than 30 countries. Although most of these companies are also members of the SPA, the SPA does not represent them in their anti-piracy efforts. The SPA represented the eight companies in the U.S. until July 1992, but since JULY, the eight decided that they wanted the BSA to represent them for efficiency's sake, because they head up the anti-piracy in other parts of the world. According to Ms. Spiroldo: "It's important to emphasize that we don't just sue. We're not a 'litigation-only' organization. We launch education programs, we work with the local software associations in the different countries to get support for enforcement and strong copyright regulations." The BSA estimates that world-wide piracy losses run between $10-$12 billion annually. They also estimate that the piracy rate for PC packaged software runs between 40-50 percent. Ms. Smiroldo adds: We see that particularly in countries like Asia and Latin American where there are some store fronts, vendors, where you can just walk up in Honk Kong, and there'll be a list of software available, and they'll download it and copy it on the number of disks needed, and you can buy it for about $10 or $15....We work closely with customs agents to recognize counterfeit and illegally copied products. A few excerpts from BSA press releases and other documents illustrate the organization's goals: The Business Software Alliance (BSA), citing a persistent link to the spread of computer viruses, today ((24 November, 1992)) announced the launch of a new worldwide enforcement effort to crack down on electronic bulletin board systems (BBS) that are distributing illegal softare. Relying on specially-trained teams of lawyers and private investigators, and in cooperation with police, BSA announced today one of the first results of the new campaign--a sweep by the Berlin police of illegal BBS operators throughout that city, closing down and seizing equipment at 13 BBS operations that have been distributing illegal software copies throughout Germany. The operators of the bulletin boards now face criminal prosecution, with a maximum prison sentence of 5 years. ++++ In Berlin the police force raided thirteen illegal electronic BBS operations on October 28 and seized approximately 25 computers containing illegal software programs on over six gigabytes of storage capacity....The police acted after an investigation by the BSA found initial evidence of substantial illegal distribution throughout the country by the BBS involved. BSA then provided this evidence to the police and public prosecutor's office in Berlin, requested that they take action to close the offending operations, and provided ongoing investigative and legal assistance to further this effort...."We are determined to take vigorous actions to close down illegal bulletin board operators," said BSA European Counsel Bradford Smith. "We have witnessed during the last year the rapid proliferation of illegal bulletin boards throughout Europe, and believe that there is a persistent pattern linking these operators, not only with the distribution of illegal software, but also with the spread of computer viruses. We now possess information pointing to illegal distribution by over 100 other BBS operators in Europe, and we will continue to bring more cases in additional countries." The BSA also announced a crackdown on Belgian BBSes. CuD will expand on BSA activities in future issues in an attempt to bring the debate over software piracy into a public forum. Downloaded From P-80 International Information Systems 304-744-2253