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List:       politech
Subject:    FC: BSA (Microsoft) screws up, targets OpenOffice distribution
From:       Declan McCullagh <declan () well ! com>
Date:       2003-02-28 18:18:57
[Download RAW message or body]

The actual thread:
http://distribution.openoffice.org/servlets/ReadMsg?msgId=581265&listName=dev

-Declan

---

Date: Fri, 28 Feb 2003 09:25:28 -0800 (PST)
Subject: Story on Slashdot regarding the BSA using incorrectly targeted 
blanket threats
From: "Barclay McInnes" <barc@netdud.com>
To: <declan@well.com>

Hi Declan;
      You might find this story of interest:

http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=03/02/28/1317244&mode=thread&tid=109

Long story short:  The BSA uses an FTP spider that goes around looking for
files with certain keywords in them, and if the site contains files that
make a hit, the file is noted, and a form nastygram gets sent out to the
site's operator(s).  In this case, many of the OpenOffice.org mirrors are
getting the notices because, horror of horrors, they matched the "office"
keyword.  Example from one of their notices:

Filename: /mandrake_current/SRPMS/OpenOffice.org-1.0.1-9mdk. src.rpm
The above computer program(s) is/are being made available for copying,
through downloading, at the above location without authorization from the
copyright owner(s)

Isn't this some kind of actionable harrassment?  They're wasting
everyone's time and money with this type of "enforcement".




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