Password protected SSD

Hi,
I bought for a small fortune (at least for me) Intel 530 Series 480GB. Sadly the guy who sold me the drive somehow forgot to say that the SSD is protected by ATA password. I don't care the slightest about the data, I just want to format the drive and use it as system disk. Is there any way to remove the password? It is the type of password where it is needed on PC startup. Victoria shows Security: ON, MAX, LOCKED. Please, tell me there is hope... Thank you very much