Hewlett-Packard has settled in a legal case brought against it by the state of California. The company was investigated because it had been accused of industrial spying. The case attracted negative publicity and interest from the US Congress. Guto Harri reports from New York:

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Fourteen million dollars is not that big a sum for one of the biggest computer makers in the world and by paying it, and by cooperating with the investigation, Hewlett-Packard has persuaded the district attorney in California, Bill Lockyer, to back off. "Hewlett-Packard is not Enron" he said after the settlement, adding that he commended the firm for taking, instead of shirking responsibility.

The former chair of HP, Patricia Dunn, is still facing criminal charges for allegedly approving highly controversial tactics by external investigators to establish who on the company's board was leaking material to the press.

Most of the money paid to settle the civil case will fund state investigations into privacy rights and intellectual property violations. The rest will pay damages and reimburse the cost of the investigation into Hewlett-Packard itself.

Guto Harri, BBC North America Business Correspondent

Listen to the words

Closure
An end, completion

was craving
was strongly desiring or wanting

a line has been drawn under
when something such as an argument has ended and an agreement has been reached, we can say that 'a line has been drawn under' it

to back off
to leave the company alone, to stop the investigation

commended
admired, congratulated

shirking responsibility
trying to avoid doing its duty, the things it is required to do

leaking material to the press
giving sensitive, private or secret information about the company to the media

the civil case
the court case started by an individual or individuals rather than by officials, such as the police or the government

privacy rights
the legal expectation that other people should not be able to get information and details about our personal lives

intellectual property
ideas and plans which are legally owned by the individuals or companies that created them; it is illegal for other people to use those ideas or plans without permission from the owners

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