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From: milne@crl.com (Andrew Milne)
Newsgroups: alt.religion.scientology
Subject: XS4ALL remove infringing document
Date: 6 Sep 1995 18:18:42 -0700
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            On 5th September a Church of Scientology
      representative, an attorney and a bailiff went to the offices
      of XS4ALL, which is a computer site in Amsterdam that had
      been posting copies of a document contained copyrighted,
      unpublished Scientology materials.

            XS4ALL were requested to remove the infringing material
      from their site and agreed to do so.  A check of the site a
      few hours later verified that the document in question was
      now unable to be accessed from this web site.

            Access providers are expected to take action on
      complaints that they receive, which is the traditional way in
      which access providers have in the past dealt with suspected
      lawbreakers on the Internet.

            An access provider has a responsibility to promulgate
      rules of conduct for its users and to enforce those rules.
      Most access providers have such rules and enforce them in a
      range of situations.  Copyright infringers have no First
      Amendment protection.  When evidence is presented of
      violation of intellectual property rights, access providers
      have a responsibility to take action.

            The "press release" posted on this incident suggested
      that the Church had taken action in the United States against
      "critics" on the Internet.  No, they are not critics, they
      are thieves masquerading as critics in order to divert
      attention from their illegal actions.

            Although this newsgroup has been in existence for more
      than three years and has generated thousands upon thousands
      of anti-Scientology messages, the Church took no action
      against it until a few of its regulars engaged in rampant,
      unlawful conduct by repeatedly posting to it copies of the
      Church's copyrighted, unpublished and confidential
      scriptures.

            The Church of Scientology is a strong proponent of free
      speech and an advocate of human rights.  The Church's human
      rights work is done to protect those who have been abused,
      not to insulate wrongdoers from the consequences of their
      unlawful actions.

            Copyright holders other than the Church have staged
      hundreds of raids to seize infringing materials, so it is not
      at all unusual in the intellectual properties field.  In
      April, Microsoft conducted a raid to help prevent pirating of
      Windows '95 software.  Thirteen computers, eleven modems,
      various databases and even a satellite dish were seized from
      the Kentucky-based "Assassins Guild," a private computer
      bulletin board.  Business records, tax returns and other
      documents were also seized.

            It is not just software manufacturers who have had to
      resort to seizures to protect their rights.  Disney, Reebock,
      Harley Davidson and Warner Brothers have also done so.