17 Charged With Piracy

Former Intel Corp. and Microsoft Corp. workers were among 17 people charged by a federal grand jury with conspiracy to infringe more than 5,000 software program copyrights, the U.S. attorney’s office said. Four of the five Intel employees involved supplied computer hardware to a group called “Pirates With Attitudes” in exchange for access to stolen software with retail value of more than $1 million, U.S. Atty. Scott Lassar alleged in a statement. A Microsoft employee allegedly provided the Pirates with company software, he said. The programs, which included software from other makers, were available through an Internet site based in Quebec, Canada, that could be accessed only by authorized users, according to the grand jury indictment. Intel and Microsoft cooperated with the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s probe of Pirates With Attitudes, the companies said. Only one of the five indicted Intel employees still works at Intel, company spokesman Chuck Mulloy said. The Microsoft employee is currently on leave, and will be fired if the charges prove to be true, spokesman Dan Leach said.