I thought nothing but armed robberies happened in Camden New Jersey. Teenage Pirate To Pay $25,000, Loses BBS Equipment CAMDEN, NEW JERSEY, U.S.A., 1995 FEB 3 (NB) -- A teenage computer operator charged with illegally distributing hundreds of copyrighted commercial software programs has reached a settlement with Novell Inc., (NASDAQ: NOVL) and Microsoft Corp., (NASDAQ: MSFT). The settlement requires the operator of the now-defunct Deadbeat Bulletin Board to pay $25,000 to Novell and Microsoft and forfeit the equipment he used to run the board to the two software makers. The agreement apparently closes the book on an investigation of the New Jersey computer BBS (bulletin board service), which authorities said contained several hundred commercial software products. The equipment was seized in an August raid of the board. This was just one of the cases investigated under an aggressive joint campaign by Novell and Microsoft to locate and prosecute pirate system operators. The project was mounted last summer and has already resulted in the closing of two bulletin boards. The two companies said they expect more seizures in the near future. Pirate bulletin boards let users download commercial products, paying for them in money or in barter by uploading programs the BBS doesn't have. According to Novell the Deadbeat Bulletin Board also contained several beta files, software which is still in the testing stage. Beta programs are often incomplete or contain problems, and are distributed to a limited number of users so those problems can be worked out before the final product comes to market. Novell and Microsoft investigators said they first got wind of the illegal software in late July, and eventually discovered more than 60 Novell and Microsoft products on the board. A court ordered seizure of the equipment and the raid was carried out in August. The court records have been sealed until now. The agreement also prohibits Microsoft and Novell from any further action against the 17-year old boy and from releasing his name. (Jim Mallory/19950203/Press contact: Jessica Jersey, Novell, 408-577-8739; Public contact: 800-785-3448 or 800-747-2837 to report suspected software piracy) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- To find out more about the anon service, send mail to help@anon.penet.fi. Due to the double-blind, any mail replies to this message will be anonymized, and an anonymous id will be allocated automatically. You have been warned. Please report any problems, inappropriate use etc. to admin@anon.penet.fi.