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HP HAS SETTLED its court case with the newspapers and hacks who it spied on during an investigation into Board Room leaks.

No one is saying how much HP paid the New York Times and three BusinessWeek journalists who were spied on.

It looks like few of them will be buying boats or cars on the back of the settlement as most of the money seems to be going to charity.

The Times hack John Markoff, and BusinessWeek reporters Peter Burrows, Ben Elgin and Roger Crockett sued in September 2006 after the technology company revealed it secretly examined the private telephone logs of journalists, board members and HP employees to identify the source of leaks to the media.

Chairwoman Patricia Dunn and four private dicks faced criminal charges as a result of the case although those charges were later dropped. One investigator, Bryan Wagner, was charged in federal court and pleaded guilty to identity theft and conspiracy.

There are still a few others cases pending against HP. Another group of journalists whose phone records were also compromised in HP's probe are still sueing HP for 'illegal and reprehensible conduct'. Mentioned in that suit are HP, Dunn and Kevin Hunsaker, the company's former ethics chief.

These include three hacks from CNET, Dawn Kawamoto, Stephen Shankland and Tom Krazit and a former reporter from The Associated Press Rachel Konrad.

HP has paid $14.5 million to make California's Attorney General go away as a result of the spying row.