AOL v. Over the Air Equipment Press Release - 11/4/97

DULLES, VA, November 4, 1997 - America Online, Inc. announced that a federal court has granted a preliminary injunction in the Company's suit to stop Over the Air Equipment, Inc. from sending unsolicited bulk e-mail, also known as spam, to AOL members.

On Friday, a U.S. District Court Judge in Alexandria, Virginia found that AOL's efforts to block junk e-mail, including its efforts to obtain a court order against Over the Air Equipment, were in the public interest and that there was a substantial likelihood that AOL would prevail on its claims of Trespass and violations of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act against Over the Air Equipment. The court's order, which takes effect immediately, bars Over the Air Equipment from sending any unsolicited e-mail to AOL members.

"We've won the first round in our fight against unsolicited junk e-mail," said George Vradenburg, Senior Vice President and General Counsel of America Online, "but the battle continues." From the outset we've believed that the law was on our side in our legal efforts to stem the tide of unsolicited junk e-mails targeted at AOL members. The court's ruling reinforces that belief and gives us a powerful weapon to use in our continuing campaign against junk e-mail."

AOL filed its suit against Over the Air Equipment, Inc., a company based in Las Vegas, Nevada, on October 2, 1997. According to the suit, Over the Air Equipment used deceptive practices, including falsifying e-mail transmission data, to avoid AOL's mail controls and to repeatedly transmit vast quantities of unsolicited e-mail to AOL members.

E-mail sent to AOL members from Over the Air Equipment included a link to their cyber-stripper offerings on the World Wide Web. To further confuse AOL subscribers, Over the Air Equipment copied an America Online trademark fraudulently suggesting that their site had AOL's approval. AOL also charges that Over the Air Equipment blatantly ignored AOL member requests to be removed from Over the Air Equipment's spamming lists and continued to transmit unwanted junk e-mail to frustrated AOL members.

America Online is being represented by the law firm of Latham & Watkins in its legal action against Over the Air Equipment. 

The suit against Over the Air Equipment, Inc. is just one part of America Online's ongoing campaign against unsolicited junk e-mail. In mid-October, the Company filed suit against another junk e-mailer, Prime Data Worldnet Systems, Inc. Like Over the Air Equipment, Prime Data also used forged transmission data to defeat AOL's mail controls and send thousands of unsolicited e-mails to AOL members.

In addition, Prime Data's mass mailing to AOL members advertised computer software products designed to enable other Internet users to transmit their own junk e-mail to AOL and its members.

Other recent steps in AOL's continuing campaign against spam include the expansion of its Mail Controls (TM) features, enabling members to choose which specific Internet addresses and domains to block -- or accept -- mail from and the launch of an online area devoted to educating members about unsolicited bulk e-mail, with tips for protecting users from annoying junk e-mail. AOL is also blocking, wherever possible, unwanted junk e-mail coming its system.

America Online, Inc., [NYSE: AOL] based in Dulles, Virginia, is the world's leading Internet online service, with over 9 million members worldwide. AOL, founded in 1985, offers its subscribers a wide variety of interactive services including electronic mail, Instant Message features, entertainment, reference, financial information, computing support, interactive magazines and newspapers, as well as easy access to all the services of the Internet.