Friday, November 21, 2008

Traverse Internet Law Federal Court Report: October 2008 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.


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.

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