First Case to Test 1990 Computer Software Rental Amendments Act Holds In
Favor of Copyright Owners

April 4, 1995 (Washington, DC) - The Software Publishers Association (SPA)
announced that a federal court ruled in favor of the SPA members in a
civil copyright infringement suit against Global Software & Accessories,
Inc. for unauthorized rental of computer software. The SPA lawsuit was the
first case to test the Computer Software Rental Amendments Act of 1990,
which prohibited the unauthorized rental of computer software.

The software retailer, Global Software & Accessories, Inc., operates three
stores on Long Island, New York, at which software is offered pursuant to
a "Deferred Billing Plan." The Deferred Billing Plan allows customers to
take software home and keep it for up to five days for a fee, called a
"non-refundable deposit," that is only a fraction of the purchase price.
If the customer keeps the software for more than five days, the customer
is charged the difference between the "non-refundable deposit" and the
purchase price. Global Software argued that this practice did not
constitute a rental. In practice, however, the evidence showed that the
software is returned by the customer 99% of the time, and US District
Judge Leonard Wexler rejected the defendant's argument.

Judge Wexler ruled that the defendant's Deferred Billing Plan constitutes
copyright infringement, that the plaintiff software manufacturers are
entitled to a permanent injunction, that the infringement was committed
willfully (which may entitle the plaintiffs to as much as $100,000 in
damages), and that the plaintiffs were entitled to an award of costs and
attorneys' fees, which will be set by the court at a later date. (Central
Point Software, Inc., et al. v. Global Software & Accessories,
Inc..,CV-93-2367, US District Court for the Eastern District of New York
(3/28/95.)

Sandra A. Sellers, SPA's Director of Litigation, stated that, "apart from
being the first decision under the 1990 Rental Amendments Act, t he
decision in this case is important because it reaffirms that protec tions
afforded by the copyright laws are not easily circumvented. A co urt will
look behind the label applied by the infringer and call a ren tal by its
true name. We are pleased that the Congress' intent behind the Rental
Amendments was preserved and common sense prevailed."

Since 1988, the Software Publishers Association has fought software piracy
through education and enforcement. The SPA distributes free of charge
materials designed to educate software users and to help businesses,
government entities, and educational institutions manage their internal
software practices. The SPA also has initiated thousands of lawsuits and
audits on behalf of its members against businesses, computer dealers,
bulletin board services, and educational institutions that have violated
its members' copyrights. The SPA's anti-piracy hotline, 1-800-388-7478,
accepts calls reporting software violations and requests for information
and materials.

The Software Publishers Association is the principal trade association of
the personal computer software industry. Its 1,160 members represent the
leading publishers in the business, consumer, education, and entertainment
software markets. The SPA has offices in Washington, DC, and Paris,
France. SPA press releases are available on-line through Compuserve
(GO:SPAFORUM) or on the Internet (WWW.SPA.ORG).

Software Publishers Association
1730 M St, Northwest, Suite 700, Washington, D.C. 20036
202-452-1600,  Fax: 202-223-8756

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