NCJ Number
101484
Journal
Computer/Law Journal Volume: 5 Issue: 2 Dated: (Fall 1984) Pages: 143-162
Date Published
1984
Length
20 pages
Annotation
With its provisions for mandatory treble damages, costs, and attorneys fees, the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) is an effective weapon against computer software pirates.
Abstract
RICO remedies are available to software owners who have obtained copyright or trade secret protection on their software. Although RICO does not list copyright or trade secret violations as racketeering activities, at least one of the following RICO racketeering activities will occur in almost every software piracy: mail fraud, wire fraud, interstate transportation of stolen property, and the receipt of stolen property transported interstate. To establish a civil violation of RICO, the plaintiff must prove that a person, through a pattern of racketeering activity, directly or indirectly participated in an enterprise which affected interstate commerce. The advantages of RICO actions include entitlement to mandatory awards of treble damages, reasonable attorneys fees, and costs. This article instructs plaintiffs in drafting a complaint under RICO and in matters pertaining to burden of proof, jurisdiction, venue, the application of RICO beyond organized crime, the liberal construction of RICO, collateral estoppel, statute of limitations, and discovery. 125 footnotes.