Rusty and Edie's BBS raided by BBS
Shari Steele
disappointed -- Rusty and Edie's was one of the most popular BBSs in the
country. It was one of the few boards that turned a hefty profit as a
business. I'm disappointed that 1) the board may have been engaging in
illegal activities, 2) one of the BBS community's real success stories has
been seized (and may not have been such a success story after all), and 3)
the SPA is doing a lot of damage to the reputation of BBSs through its
coordinated witchhunts of late. I've tried calling the folks at Rusty and
Edie's all day to see if I can get their side of the story, but the board
line just rings and rings, and the voice line has been constantly busy.
I'll keep you posted as I learn more. If anyone out there knows more,
please pass that on to me, too. Thanks. Shari
WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Federation [sic] Bureau of
Investigation on Saturday, Jan. 30, 1993, raided "Rusty & Edie's," a
computer bulletin board located in Boardman, [sic -- it's really in
Youngstown, I think] Ohio, which has allegedly been illegally distributing
copyrighted software programs.
Seized in the raid on the Rusty & Edie's bulletin board were computers,
hard disk drives and telecommunications equipment, as well as financial
and subscriber records.
For the past several months, the Software Publishers Association ("SPA")
has been working with the FBI in investigating the Rusty & Edie's bulletin
board, and as part of that investigation has downloaded numerous
copyrighted business and entertainment programs from the board.
The SPA investigation was initiated following the receipt of complaints
from a number of SPA members that their software was being illegally distributed
on the Rusty & Edie's BBS.
The Rusty & Edie's bulletin board was one of the largest private
bulletin boards in the country. It had 124 nodes available to callers and
over 14,000 subscribers throughout the United States and several foreign
countries. To date, the board has logged in excess of 3.4 million phone
calls, with new calls coming in at the rate of over 4,000 per day. It was
established in 1987 and had expanded to include over 19 gigabytes of
storage housing over 100,000 files available to subscribers for
downloading. It had paid subscribers throughout the United States and
several foreign countries, including Canada, Luxembourg, France, Germany,
Finland, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
A computer bulletin board allows personal computer users to access a
host computer by a modem-equipped telephone to exchange information,
including messages, files, and computer programs. The systems operator (Sysop) is
generally responsible for the operation of the bulletin board and
determines who is allowed to access the bulletin board and under what conditions.
For a fee of $89.00 per year, subscribers to the Rusty & Edie's bulletin
board were given access to the board's contents including many popular
copyrighted business and entertainment packages. Subscribers could "download" or
receive these files for use on their own computers without having to pay the
copyrighted owner anything for them.
"The SPA applauds the FBI's action today," said Ilene Rosenthal, general
counsel for the SPA. "This shows that the FBI recognizes the harm that
theft of intellectual property causes to one of the U.S.'s most vibrant industries. It clearly demonstrates a trend that the government understands the
seriousness of software piracy." The SPA is actively working with the FBI
in the investigation of computer bulletin boards, and similar raids on other boards areIt
clearly demonstrates a trend that the government understands the
seriousness of software piracy." The SPA is actively working with the FBI in the
investigation expected shortly.
Whether it's copied from a program purchased at a neighborhood computer
store or downloaded from a bulletin board thousands of miles away, pirated
software adds to the cost of computing. According to the SPA, in 1991,
the software
industry lost $1.2 billion in the U.S. alone. Losses internationally are
several billion dollars more. "Many people may not realize that software
pirates
cause prices to be higher, in part, to make up for publisher losses from
piracy," says Ken Wasch, executive director of the SPA. In addition, they
ruin
the reputation of the hundreds of legitimate bulletin boards that serve
an important function for computer users."
The Software Publishers Association is the principal trade association
of the personal computer software industry. It's over 1,000 members
represent the
leading publishers in the business, consumer and education software
markets. The
SPA has offices in Washington DC, and Paris, France.
CONTACT: Software Publishers Association, Washington
Ilene Rosenthal, 202/452-1600 Ext. 318
Terri Childs, 202/452-1600 Ext. 320
13:57 ET FEB 1, 1993
BW805 FEB 1,1993 10:57 PACIFIC 13:57 EASTERN
:SUBJECT: FBI INFO OH Copyright (C) Business Wire Received by
NewsEDGE/LAN: 02/01/93 14:20:59