Scientology lawsuit AP 20 Jan 1996 Copyright 1996 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) -- A federal judge is considering how much to award the church of Scientology in damages after ruling that a critic of the church violated copyright law by posting its sacred texts on the Internet. In a case closely watched by computer users, the church sued Arnaldo Lerma for placing the documents on the Internet as part of his long-running criticism of church practices he says are abusive. U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema put aside questions of whether the church harassed the critic or abused a search warrant she granted and narrowed the complex case to a few issues of copyright law. Brinkema said Friday she would take up the question of damages and attorney's fees later. She told the church not to expect much money. Lerma's lawyer, Thomas Kelley, argued that the case parallels a related lawsuit the church filed against The Washington Post. Brinkema dismissed that lawsuit, saying the church had no grounds to block the newspaper from publishing excerpts from secret religious texts. But Brinkema said that while the Post's use of a few selected quotes from the document was justifiable, Lerma's wholesale copying was not. The church argued that trade secrecy and copyright laws prohibit unauthorized dissemination of secret church texts. It said the texts are confidential instructional materials for advanced members. Scientology is a religion founded 41 years ago by science-fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard. It requires initiates to undergo teaching and counseling that can cost thousands of dollars. Lerma has said he joined the church in 1963 and was forced out in 1978 after pursuing a romance with one of Hubbard's daughters. In September 1995, Lerma began placing documents describing alleged wrongdoing by the group -- and some of its most sacred texts -- on international computer bulletin boards. The documents became a hot topic of conversation on the Internet and the America Online service. The documents Lerma distributed include hair-raising descriptions of abuse by former Scientology officials, claims that Scientology brainwashes and defrauds members and exacts reprisals against critics, and details of how people can achieve the theological growth that Scientologists say transforms people into near-gods. ------------------- The following is a correction to the above story, issued by AP on January 30, 1996: Scientology Lawsuit ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) -- The Associated Press erroneously reported two details in a Jan. 20 story about a judge's ruling in favor of the church of Scientology in its lawsuit against a critic accused of violating copyright laws by posting church documents on the Internet. Arnaldo Lerma first began posting church documents, as well as court documents critical of the church, on computer bulletin boards in September 1994, not September 1995. The story also erred in saying the church had filed a separate lawsuit against the Washington Post. The church sued Lerma on Aug. 11, 1995, then amended the lawsuit Aug. 22 to include the Post. The judge dismissed the Post as a defendant on Nov. 27. AP-WS-01-30-96 1416EST