HP issued a press release on June 29 that it had resolved its lawsuit with Abtech, the Carlsbad, Calif. used hardware broker which HP had accused of illegally reconfiguring HP 3000s and pirating MPE/iX user licenses. HP’s press release restated the terms we reported in our June front page story about the lawsuit’s resolution: a total of $900,000 in damages that Abtech and its officers agreed to pay to HP; ending the HP 3000 resale and leasing business in Abtech’s operations; cancelling any of Abtech’s leases of illegally configured 3000 systems; an injunction forbidding Abtech from engaging in any activities that violate HP’s proprietary rights in the HP 3000 and HP 9000 lines; and turning over all copies of SS_CONFIG, the program that can be used to set HP 3000 license levels and system personalities.

The release also stated that “During a court hearing, HP presented uncontroverted evidence that that Abtech improperly possessed and used a bootlegged copy of the SS_CONFIG program.” HP 3000 General Manager Harry Sterling commented in the release that, “The court’s injunction and judgment for substantial money damages in HP’s favor uphold HP’s important proprietary rights.” He added that the outcome “signifies that HP will vigorously defend its rights when they are infringed.”