Software Companies Sue Italian Firms: A U.S....

Software Companies Sue Italian Firms: A U.S. software consortium has accused three Italian firms of pirating American programs in an unprecedented copyright infringement suit, company officials said. The suit, filed late last week in Milan by the Business Software Assn., accuses the European companies of copying without authorization software produced by Lotus Development Corp. of Cambridge and Ashton-Tate Corp. of Torrance. The Elettrocarbonium SpA, Montedison SpA and its affiliate, Monefibre SpA, were named as co-defendants in BSA’s suit, but exactly what if any compensation the group was seeking was not specified. BSA President Douglas E. Phillips said the group would likely file additional lawsuits against several other companies in the months to come.