Tidbit

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Tidbit is a Boston area startup company founded by MIT students to use web based distributed computing to mine bitcoins. [1] In December 2013, shortly after its formation, the company was served a subpoena by the Attorney General of New Jersey [1] under the state's consumer fraud protection act. After consulting the MIT administration the company was referred to the Electronic Frontier Foundation, which is representing the company in its effort opposing the subpoena. [1]

Massachusetts Institute of Technology University in Massachusetts

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The Institute is a land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant university, with an urban campus that extends more than a mile (1.6 km) alongside the Charles River. The Institute also encompasses a number of major off-campus facilities such as the MIT Lincoln Laboratory, the Bates Center, and the Haystack Observatory, as well as affiliated laboratories such as the Broad and Whitehead Institutes. Founded in 1861 in response to the increasing industrialization of the United States, MIT adopted a European polytechnic university model and stressed laboratory instruction in applied science and engineering. It has since played a key role in the development of many aspects of modern science, engineering, mathematics, and technology, and is widely known for its innovation and academic strength, making it one of the most prestigious institutions of higher learning in the world.

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  2. subpoena duces tecum orders a person or organization to bring physical evidence before the ordering authority or face punishment. This is often used for requests to mail copies of documents to requesting party or directly to court.

In February 2014 MIT faculty members Hal Abelson, Ethan Zuckerman, and graduate student Nathan Matias published a letter calling on MIT to do more to protect the students, as legal risk jeopardized MIT's institutional mission in “training young people to imagine, create, and disseminate projects that expand the possibilities of technology.” [2] MIT President Rafael Reif then wrote an email to the MIT community, stating that Tidbit had "the full and enthusiastic support of MIT," and that he had directed the Provost, Chancellor and General Counsel to submit a proposal to provide legal advice to students. [3]

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In May 2015 the parties reached a settlement. [4] [5] [6]

In law, a settlement is a resolution between disputing parties about a legal case, reached either before or after court action begins. The term "settlement" also has other meanings in the context of law. Structured settlements provide for future periodic payments, instead of a one time cash payment.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Anner, Steve (February 13, 2014). "MIT Students Are Battling With New Jersey Officials to Save Their Startup Company". Boston Magazine. Retrieved February 15, 2014.
  2. ↑ Lin, Leon (February 14, 2014). "Open letter calls on MIT to do more in Tidbit's legal battle". The Tech. Retrieved February 15, 2014.
  3. ↑ "Letter to MIT community regarding support of students behind 'Tidbit'". MIT news office. February 15, 2014. Retrieved February 15, 2014.
  4. ↑ "New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs Obtains Settlement with Developer of Bitcoin-Mining Software Found to Have Accessed New Jersey Computers Without Users' Knowledge or Consent". nj.gov.
  5. ↑ "New Jersey Drops Investigation Into Tidbit". Electronic Frontier Foundation.
  6. ↑ "MIT student settles legal fight with NJ over bitcoin-mining experiment". betaboston.com.
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