Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Traverse Internet Law Federal Court Report: July 2011 - Hacking Lawsuits


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.


SQUARE ENIX LIMITED v. JOHN DOES 1-15
WESTERN DIVISION OF WASHINGTON (SEATTLE)
2:11-CV-01045
FILED: 6/22/2011

Anytime you use someone else’s password and access a computer you are likely violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act or local computer crime statutes. These are typically criminal and civil in nature. Don’t use someone else’s password or log-in information to get into a program or on to a website.

The Plaintiff is a UK company developing and distributing home video game computer programs. The Defendants are alleged to have logged into the restrictive account hosting the game preview and copied the game preview from the server and distributed it to other Defendants and third parties using peer to peer file sharing protocol.

Allegations in the lawsuit include copyright infringement and violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. The prayer for relief includes requests for preliminary and permanent injunctive relief, actual damages, statutory damages, and reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs. Traverse Internet Law Federal Court Report Cross-Reference Number 1508.