Steve Jackson Games, Inc. v. United States Secret Service

In October 1988, Bell South became aware that a proprietary memorandum relating to its 9-1-1 system had been posted on a bulletin board system (BBS) in Illinois. In February 1990 Secret Service found that the document had been posted on the "Phoenix" BBS in Austin, Texas, which was operated by Loyd Blankenship, who was at the time employed by SJG and moderator of the company's own BBS, "Illuminati". The Secret Service executed the warrant on SJG on 1 March 1990. Three SJG computers were seized, along with over 300 floppy disks. The "Illuminati" server included private personal emails to and from SJG employees. The material was returned in June 1990. ==Trial==

SJG sued the Secret Service for damages arising from loss of revenue while the computers were in its custody. Loyd Blankenship was not party to the suits. The case came to trial in 1993 in the Western Texas District Court. and finding that they had no basis to suspect SJG of any wrongdoing. The Electronic Frontier Foundation was an amicus curiae at the appeal. The GURPS Cyberpunk book lists "Unsolicited Comments: The United States Secret Service" on its credits page. == References ==