version of this fascinating summary =
is available at:
http://www.cyberlaw.com/cylx1195.html
> [CyberLex (tm)]
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> =
> CyberLex -- Updated 12/95
> =
> by Jonathan Rosenoer
> =
> Notable legal developments reported in November 1995 include the
> following:
> =
> * U.S. District Court Judge Ronald Whyte issued a ruling in the
> copyright infringement case brought against Netcom On-Line
> Communications and others over Internet posting of Scientology
> works, finding Netcom may be liable for contributory infringement
> if it can be proven Netcom knew of the copyright violations and
> neglected to prevent recurrence and remove the offending works. San
> Jose Mercury News, 11/27/95, 1A.
> =
> * The F.B.I. proposed a national wiretap system providing the
> capacity to monitor simultaneously as many as one out of every 100
> phone lines in some high-crime areas. At minimum, the F.B.I. would
> be able to monitor 74,250 phone lines at once, which is 10 times
> the number of surveillance orders in 1993. New York Times, 11/2/95,
> A1.
> =
> * Virgin Atlantic Airways was fined by the U.S. Department of
> Transportation for publishing misleading advertising on the
> Internet. Virgin published details of its transatlantic air fares
> on its Web page, but failed to update them. In particular, Virgin
> advertised a round-trip air fare of $499 between Newark, New
> Jersey, and London, England, for passengers booking 21 days in
> advance. But a consumer calling Virgin was told the fare was no
> longer available because the season had changed from off-peak to
> peak. Virgin Atlantic agreed to pay a $14,000 fine. Financial
> Times, 11/23/95.
> =
> * Cornell University officials are investigating four freshmen for
> sexual harassment and misuse of computer resources in connection
> with an e-mail message joking about rape and listing "75 reasons
> why women should not have freedom of speech." The message was
> apparently sent to 20 of the students' friends and then forwarded
> to countless Internet e-mail addresses. Marin Independent Journal,
> 11/16/95, A4.
> =
> * Frank Music Corp., The Harry Fox Agency, Inc., and CompuServe
> Inc. agreed to settle a class action lawsuit for copyright
> infringement, __Frank Music Corp. v. CompuServe, Inc.__, Civ. No.
> 93-Civ-8153-JFK (SDNY). The suit alleged copyright infringement of
> the song "Unchained Melody" and more than 900 other songs, based
> upon the uploading and downloading of sound recordings by
> CompuServe subscribers, and the alleged facilitation of this
> copying by CompuServe. CompuServe does not admit liability, but
> will make payments to be divided among the music publishers
> involved. CompuServe will work with the Harry Fox Agency on a
> licensing arrangement allowing CompuServe to obtain licenses
> permitting the uploading and downloading of the publishers' songs
> on the CompuServe system.
> =
> * America Online alerted its subscribers to a destructive computer
> virus, known as "AOLGold" or "install.exe", that arrives attached
> to e-mail. The virus is activated once downloaded, and proceeds to
> restart the computer and rename the program that controls the
> computer's monitor. When the computer is next restarted, the virus
> begins deleting files in alphabetical and numerical order. The
> virus in not specific to America Online, and has been spotted on
> the Internet. Marin Independent Journal, 11/17/95, B6.
> =
> * Randall Schwartz, a former Intel systems administrator, was
> convicted under Oregon law on three felony counts of altering a
> computer system without authorization and gaining access to a
> system with the intention of committing theft. Originally hired as
> a contract programmer and systems administrator, Schwartz conducted
> routine security checks using a program called "Crack," which
> guesses user passwords. After being hired by another Intel
> division, Schwartz performed a security check on his old division,
> despite reprimands by Intel for two previous incursions into
> computers at Intel and other companies. During that check, Schwartz
> used Crack to determine the password of a user, gained access to a
> core cluster of Intel computers, moved a password file from a
> computer to a quicker one, where he used Crack to break 48 of 600
> passwords. Intel conceded there was no evidence Schwartz took
> passwords out of the system, but maintained that merely moving the
> passwords constituted theft. Schwartz was sentenced to five years
> probation, a deferred ninety-day jail term, 480 hours of community
> service, and $170,000 in legal fees. He also faces a $72,000
> damages claim. New York Times, 11/27/95, C5.
> =
> * Autodesk's anti-piracy squad and Los Angeles, California,
> District Attorney agents raided the residence of "Captain Blood,"
> who was arrested on software piracy charges. Captain Blood, whose
> real name is Thomas Nick Alefantes, has been sought for five years
> by Autodesk, the nation's fourth largest PC software maker. The
> raid uncovered over $1 million worth of software, including copies
> of Autodesk's AutoCAD program -- which investigators said were
> being sold for as little as $79. Alefantes, held on $1 million
> bail, is charged with two counts of counterfeiting a registered
> trademark and computer fraud. Marin Independent Journal, 11/16/95,
> A1.
> =
> * Justin Tanner Petersen, 35, also known as "Agent Steal," was
> sentenced to 41 months in federal prison for taking part in a
> scheme to rig radio station contests and illegally possessing 40
> passwords to various financial accounts. He was also placed on
> three years' supervised probation, ordered to use computers for
> employment only, and to pay more than $40,000 restitution.
> Petersen's lawyer plans to appeal the sentence, on grounds it was
> unfairly enhanced by two special circumstances: that Petersen used
> "special skills" in committing his crimes, and fled while on bail
> and helping the federal government pursue cases against other
> hackers. Peterson admits that before he became a fugitive, he
> conspired to transfer $150,000 from Heller Financial in Glendale,
> California, to the Union Bank account of an unidentified person. He
> also admits that to cover the crime and divert attention from the
> transfer, he phoned two phony bomb threats to Heller to force its
> evacuation. Los Angeles Times, 11/28/95, B5.
> =
> * Kevin L. Poulsen, 30, a computer hacker serving a four-year
> prison term for rigging Los Angeles radio station contests, pled
> guilty to unauthorized intrusion into the files of Pacific Bell.
> Poulsen admitted burglarizing phone company offices, and obtaining
> manuals and access codes to obtain free phone service and bogus
> credit cards. He also admitted obtaining a list of F.B.I. wiretaps
> from phone company computers. Federal prosecutors dropped espionage
> charges against Poulsen, saying a military document found in his
> possession was obsolete, also acknowledging he had lawful access to
> the document and did not share the information. New York Times,
> 11/12/95.
> =
> * LambGroup, Inc., a Miami, Florida, company providing local
> tourist information on the World Wide Web, sued a competitor for
> plagiarism of data. The company based its claim on British common
> law, rather than copyright law. Marin Independent Journal,
> 11/28/95, B6.
> =
> * U.S. Robotics Access Corp. settled a lawsuit alleging false and
> misleading advertising brought by the Marin County (California)
> District Attorney's Office. The suit is based on allegations US
> Robotics misled purchasers into believing they would receive
> specified software when purchasing the company's "Mac & Fax
> Sportster 14.400 Fax/data modem." Modem packaging said the box
> included "FAX stf" or "MicroPhone LT Communications," but US
> Robotics allegedly substituted other software. The company paid
> $31,000 to settle the claims, but did not admit any violation of
> state law. Marin Independent Journal, 11/21/95, B6.
> =
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> =
> CyberLex (tm) is published solely as an educational service. The
> author, a California attorney, is Executive Editor of LEXIS COUNSEL
> CONNECT CALIFORNIA. He may be contacted at cyberlaw.us@counsel.com or
> cyberlaw@cyberlaw.com. Questions and comments may be posted on America
> Online (go to keyword "CYBERLAW") or CyberLaw World Wide
> (http://www.cyberlaw.com/), hosted by Best Internet Communications,
> Inc. CyberLex is a trademark of Jonathan Rosenoer. Copyright =A9 1995
> Jonathan Rosenoer; All Rights Reserved.
> =