Nvidia case leads site to enforce stricter rules

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By Joris Evers
IDG News Service

(IDG) -- The makers of M3DZone.com, a Web site for computer graphics enthusiasts, agreed to enforce stricter rules when posting news items after chip maker Nvidia Corp. discovered that confidential information was posted to the site, M3DZone's administrator said Friday.

Santa Clara, California-based Nvidia, one of the world's largest suppliers of graphic chips, in September found that information on M3DZone was obtained by hacking into its systems and by impersonating staffers at partner companies, a Nvidia spokesman said. The news postings on M3DZone included corporate information as well as details on yet-to-be-announced products and software drivers, he said.

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Two Dutch nationals, ages 16 and 21, were accused in the incident, and their PCs were seized and returned after inspection. The 16-year-old posted the news items in question to the Web site but no longer posts news to M3DZone, a source familiar with the matter said.

Michiel Beenen, M3DZone's administrator, is unhappy about the whole affair, he said in an interview.

"M3DZone is a hobby. We've got 12 people who post news to the Web site and are unaware of copyright issues and that there are certain items you just can't post. We've learned from this," Beenen said. "We told our news posters not to post copyright-protected, leaked or in any way illegal material to the site. We want to have a good relationship with the manufacturers."

Nvidia didn't file charges against the two Dutchmen. The settlement between the company and the M3DZone crew was reached in September, but the news came out only this week. Both Nvidia and Beenen are tight-lipped about the settlement details, but the source said the promise to keep a close eye on what news is posted was enough to settle the case.

M3DZone attracts about 70,000 visitors a day and competes with sites such as Tom's Hardware Guide, Beenen said.