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Date: Sun, 14 Jun 92 09:18:27 CST
From: MackL <Mclaugh@psicom2.edu>
Subject: File 7--PC BBS Raided by FBI (reprint)
"PC Bulletin Board Hit by FBI Raid"
By Josh Hyatt (Boston Globe)
From: (Chicago Tribune, June 14. Sect 7, p 3)
BOSTON--In one of the first reported crackdowns of its kind, six FBI
agents raided a computer bulletin board based in a Millbury, Mass.,
home last week. Authorities said the bulletin board's operator had
been illegally distributing copyrighted software.
Executing a criminal search warrant, the agents seized several
computers, six modems and a program called PC Board, which was used to
run the bulletin board. Authorities also seized documents that listed
users of the service.
No arrests were made, according to the Software Publisher's
Association, a trade group that brought the case to the FBI's
attention. The association estimates that, as of March, the bulletin
board had distributed $675,000 worth of copyrighted software; software
pirates, it says, annually steal as much as $12 billion this way.
The FBI will not comment on the case except to confirm that a raid had
taken place and that the investigation is continuing. The alleged
operator of the bulletin board, Richard Kenadek, could not be reached
for comment.
Around the same time as the raid, the software association filed a
civil lawsuit against Kenadek, charging him with violating copyright
laws. Ilene Rosenthal, the group's director of litigation, said that
"the man had incriminated himself" through various computerized
messages.
"There's plenty of evidence to show that he was very aware of
everything on his bulletin board," she said.
Bulletin boards let personal computer users access a host computer via
modems. Typically, participants exchange information regarding
everything from computer programs to tropical fish. They may also,
for example, obtain upgrades of computer programs.
The association said its own four-month investigation revealed that
this bulletin board, called Davy Jones Locker, contained copies of
more than 200 copyrighted programs.
Rosenthal said users also were encouraged to contribute copyrighted
software programs for others to download or copy.
According to Rosenthal, subscribers paid a fee, $49 for three months
or $99 for one year. She said Davy Jones Locker had nearly 400 paying
subscribers in 36 states and 11 foreign countries.