TECHNOLOGY - Aug. 23, 1996

Internet Copyright Case Settled: The operator of a Los Angeles-based computer bulletin board service has settled a copyright lawsuit by the Church of Scientology that threatened to set new boundaries for speech on the Internet. In its lawsuit, the church accused bulletin board operator Tom Klemesrud of helping former Scientology official Dennis Erlich of Glendale distribute its copyrighted materials online. Klemesrud agreed to pay the church $50,000 without admitting liability. San Jose-based Netcom, also named in the suit, agreed to a settlement last month. The Scientologists have taken an aggressive legal stance against critics who use the Internet to post the unpublished writings of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard. Critics say the church is seeking to keep the writings out of the public eye because they illuminate some of the church’s practices.