Rusty n Edie's BBS

Legal

Rusty n Edie's BBS (Rusty-N-Edie's) was a bulletin board system founded on May 11, 1987 by the two SysOps, Russ Hardenburgh and Edwina Hardenburgh, of Boardman, Ohio. At one point the BBS had over 14,000 subscribers across the United States, Canada, and Europe (each paying an $89 annual membership fee) and over 124 modem telephone lines. (About $1.25M annual dues)

On January 30, 1993, the system was raided by the FBI for software piracy after a several month investigation in cooperation with the Software Publishers Association (SPA).

On November 25, 1997, a lawsuit was filed by Playboy Enterprises in response to 412 adult GIF images available for download, which had come from the pages of Playboy magazine, and had been scanned in. (PLAYBOY ENTERPRISES, INC., v. RUSS HARDENBURGH, INC., No. 1:93 CV 0546.) Hardenburgh lost this case and was found personally liable along with his company. Ultimately, the judgement was for hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Quotations

"The SPA should protect the BBS operator from having equipment confiscated. These are computers, not drugs or illegal weapons! The rationale means any PC Magazine reader suspected of having pirated software may have a PC confiscated. As in Joseph Stalin's Russia, it only takes a tip from an unfriendly neighbor. The SPA is that neighbor today. A disgruntled employee or jilted lover will be that neighbor tomorrow." - John C. Dvorak

References

• Rusty n Edie's BBS seized by the FBI
• History of Rusty n Edie's as told by Rusty Hardenburgh
• Playboy v Russ Hardenburgh - copyright and trademark infringement suit filed by Playboy in response to actionable adult GIF images online Rusty n Edie's BBS.

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