Traverse Internet Law Federal Court Report: November 2008 Hacking Lawsuits

Traverse Internet Law Disclaimer

The facts are unproven allegations of the Plaintiff and all commentary is based upon the allegations, the truthfulness and accuracy of which are likely in dispute.


CRAIGSLIST, INC. v. JODY GRAFFUNDER AND JOHN DOE
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA (SAN JOSE)
5:08-CV-05062
FILED: 11/05/2008

This lawsuit is primarily about the violation of the user agreement on the Craigslist website and is brought under the Federal hacking statute that was used in the MySpace suicide case to obtain a criminal conviction. Hacking does not require a malicious intent. Indeed, the hacking statutes that exist are more in line with "trespass" laws. The label of being a "hacker" is often being attached to individuals and businesses who never attempted any malicious act. Make sure that when you are accessing websites you follow the terms of the user agreement and avoid copying websites to build applications by "scraping" the data from websites.

This is one of ten cases filed by Craigslist going after "auto posting" software and service providers and those involved with the distribution of software that is used on Craigslist. Craigslist alleges that in order for the software to be developed the Defendants had to access and copy its website to develop, test, implement, use and provide the software, programs, devices, and services. This access was unauthorized and contrary to the user agreement on the Craigslist website.

These lawsuits state claims for direct copyright infringement, vicarious copyright infringement, contributory copyright infringement, violations of the DMCA, violations of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, violations of California state law, trademark infringement, state trademark infringement, breach of contract, inducing to breach a contract, intentional interference with contractual relations, and fraud. The request for injunctive relief is extensive and the Plaintiff requests an order prohibiting the Defendants from using Craigslist. In addition, the court is requested to enter an order to create a constructive trust and require the Defendants to pay all profits derived from their conduct into such trust for distribution to the Plaintiff as well as an award of compensatory, statutory, and punitive damages, interest, attorneys' fees and costs. Traverse Internet Law Cross-Reference Number 1247.

Traverse Internet Law Federal Court Report: October 2008 Hacking Lawsuits

Traverse Internet Law Disclaimer

The facts are unproven allegations of the Plaintiff and all commentary is based upon the allegations, the truthfulness and accuracy of which are likely in dispute.

COSTAR REALTY INFORMATION, INC. AND COSTAR GROUP, INC. v. DAVID ARFFA AND ROBIN MEISSNER
DISTRICT OF MARYLAND (GREENBELT)
8:08-CV-02766
FILED: 10/20/2008

Borrowing a login name and password and accessing a website can be "hacking" under federal law as well as under many state computer crime laws. This issue has garnered a lot of attention lately with the criminal prosecution under this statute relating to the violation of the "MySpace" terms of use ultimately leading to suicide by a juvenile. Suffice it to say, that most individuals and businesses are not aware of this potential significant liability.

CoStar is a leading national commercial real estate information services provider using state of the art software technology and research methodologies to develop and deliver to customers one of the most comprehensive commercial real estate information databases available. Its services are offered to authorized users through license agreements. Defendant Arffa obtained the username and password from a customer and used them to improperly access the commercial real estate database on multiple occasions.

The lawsuit includes counts for breach of contract by the Co-Defendant who allegedly gave a second login and password to Arffa, breach of contract, direct copyright infringement, contributory and vicarious copyright infringement, fraud, and a violation of the federal Unauthorized Access (Hacking) Statute. The prayer for relief includes requests for statutory damages under the Copyright Act of up to $150,000.00 per copyrighted work accessed, other compensatory damages, reasonable attorneys' fees, costs, and interest, and a request for entry of a preliminary and permanent injunction requesting remedial actions by the Defendants and prohibitions against future misconduct. Traverse Internet Law Cross-Reference Number 1233.

Traverse Internet Law Federal Court Report: September 2008 Hacking Lawsuits

Traverse Internet Law Disclaimer

The facts are unproven allegations of the Plaintiff and all commentary is based upon the allegations, the truthfulness and accuracy of which are likely in dispute.


ROCKYOU, INC. v. BLAKE COMMAGERE AND COMMAGERE VENTURES, LLC
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA (SAN FRANCISCO)
FILED: 9/08/2008
3:08-CV-04237

This lawsuit implicates the federal hacking statute in a claim relating to the "unauthorized access" of the Defendant. The various rights and obligations of parties in a "joint venture" agreement based upon revenue sharing is a high risk situation. There are many ambiguities that arise and this needs to be an area in which every business treads with great caution.

Rockyou, Inc. owns the copyrights and other property rights associated with four software applications titled "Zombies", "Vampires", "Werewolves", and "Slayers", to which the Plaintiff collectively refers as "Monster Applications". The Defendant was the developer of many aspects of the programs and transferred the intellectual property rights to the Plaintiff in return for a 60% revenue share. The Defendant is alleged to have accessed Rockyou's protected servers under the false pretense that he was performing maintenance in March, 2008. Defendant then allegedly proceeded to copy, without permission, the source code of the applications and the user database, and then loaded the data and software applications onto his own database and web server, reconfigured the application configuration keys to point to his own servers, and in effect stole the applications from the Plaintiff. Defendant is now allegedly using substantially similar code to reproduce, distribute, and/or prepare derivative works of the Monster Applications and is making them available on Facebook and other social networking websites in a substantially similar form to the Monster Applications owned by the Plaintiff.

Rockyou, Inc. sues for copyright infringement, violations of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, and in its prayer for relief requests preliminary and permanent injunctive relief, impoundment, seizure and destruction of the copies in the Defendant's possession of the Monster Applications, damages, courts costs, and reasonable attorney's fees. Traverse Internet Law Cross-Reference Number 1224.

Traverse Internet Law Federal Court Report: August 2008 Hacking Lawsuits

Traverse Internet Law Disclaimer

The facts are unproven allegations of the Plaintiff and all commentary is based upon the allegations, the truthfulness and accuracy of which are likely in dispute.

COSTAR REALTY INFORMATION, INC. ET AL. v. WAYNE MASCIA ASSOCIATES
DISTRICT OF MARYLAND (GREENBELT)
8:08-CV-02248
FILED: 8/28/2008

This lawsuit is another example of the use of the hacking laws to deal with those accessing a website without permission. In this instance, it appears that the lack of permission came from the fact that the login name and passwords were obtained from third parties. Word to the wise: Don’t use someone else’s membership…and make sure your employees know better!

Plaintiff CoStar Realty Information, Inc. has sued Wayne Mascia Associates for obtaining user names and passwords and logging into the Plaintiff’s proprietary commercial real estate information subscription service. Once logged in, Defendant is alleged to have made unauthorized copies and displays of CoStar’s copyrighted databases and copyrighted photographs.

The lawsuit alleges breach of contract, copyright infringement, and computer hacking under 18 U.S.C. 1030. The Plaintiffs pray for entry of an award of statutory damages of no less than $150,000.00 per copyrighted work, additional compensatory damages, and the entry of a preliminary and permanent injunction providing a broad range of relief. Traverse Internet Law Cross-Reference Number 1204.