[Legal] Fwd: Bugfinder Being Indicted As Criminal ("Counterfeiter") in France

[Michael Shigorin]

----- Forwarded message from Drew Copley <dcopley на eeye.com> -----

Date: Wed, 31 Mar 2004 12:20:39 -0800
From: "Drew Copley" <dcopley на eeye.com>
To: <bugtraq на securityfocus.com>, <full-disclosure на lists.netsys.com>
Subject: Bugfinder Being Indicted As Criminal ("Counterfeiter") in France

http://www.guillermito2.net/archives/2004_03_25e.html

[thanks to AJ 'Effin' Reznor]

[Disclaimer: I don't know who has seen this already, and I do not
pretend to know the full facts of the case. -- Drew ]

Excerpt:

It's quite interesting to discover, from the inside, how the french
justice system works. I'm back from Paris. I've just been indicted and
charged of distributing programs that violated Intellectual Property
rights (literally translated, it's "counterfeiting and concealment of
counterfeiting"). Maximum punishment for these charges are two years in
jail and a fine of 150.000 euros. I'm not yet judged guilty or innocent,
but I already had to pay around two or three thousands dollars for two
trips to Paris (I live in Boston, MA, USA), plane tickets, and lawyer
fees. I already talked about my story here (in french).

...

 In march 2002, I published on my website a long analysis about this
software. This webpage showed how the program worked, demonstrated a few
security flaws, and some tests with real viruses. I showed that, unlike
the advertizing claimed, this software didn't detect and stopped "100%
of viruses". So, nothing really extraordinary. The company first reacted
in a weird way: they denounced me publicly as a "terrorist", probably a
nice attempt to make me change my mind. Later on, they filed a formal
complaint against me in a Paris tribunal. 

...


----- End forwarded message -----

-- 
 ---- WBR, Michael Shigorin <mike на altlinux.ru>
  ------ Linux.Kiev http://www.linux.kiev.ua/