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SIIA targets eBay sellers in anti-piracy efforts

15 February 2008 19:18 by James "Dela" Delahunty | 4 comments

The Software & Information Industry Association (SIAA) has named several eBay sellers in lawsuits aimed at discouraging the sale of pirate software on the Internet auction giant. The nine lawsuits were filed on behalf of Symantec and Adobe Systems in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. It marks the latest action by the SIIA in its war on auction-site piracy initiated two years ago.

"Our goal is to give illegal software sellers a rude awakening, so that unsuspecting software buyers and legitimate sellers are protected. For too long, auction sellers have been able to sell pirated software while risking only the removal of their auction. SIIA has upped the ante by bringing those who pirate software to justice in court," said Keith Kupferschmid, senior vice president of SIIA's anti-piracy division.

These nine lawsuits mark the most agressive action taken by SIIA since its auction site program began. The organization monitors auction sites and identifies individuals selling software items without authorization. Along with pirates, the group has also targeted sellers of OEM software. In the conclusion of the Symantec et al. v. Chan et al. case last year, SIIA collected $205,000. The suit involved the sale of OEM, unbundled, counterfeit and software that was not authorized for sale.

"Online auctioning of pirated software hurts both business and consumers," said Scott Bain, litigation counsel. "When consumers buy cheap, illegal software, they get no support and often find they've spent good money on bad software. In addition to taking legal action against software pirates, SIIA is giving consumers tools to help them fight back."

Permalink to this article | Topic: Lawsuits & Legislation

Piracy is caused by lack of choice, says study (6 March 2008)

Microsoft continues fight against piracy (11 December 2007)

EFF & eBay user take on Universal (6 August 2007)

eBay removes Live 8 DVD auctions (5 July 2005)

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Discuss this article!
svtstang (AfterDawn Addict) 15 February 2008 19:30
Good for the SIIA (awaiting insults), people that profit from piracy disgust me. [ + quote]
cleverick (Newbie) 15 February 2008 19:38
*Originally posted by svtstang:* Good for the SIIA (awaiting insults), people that profit from piracy disgust me. Me too. One of these knuckleheads live in my town. [ + quote]
Craftybox (Newbie) 16 February 2008 10:29
... [ + quote] This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 16 February 2008 10:29
borhan9 (AfterDawn Addict) 9 April 2008 4:46
See this is kinda dumb if you are going onto sites like ebay to find software that is cheaper than the retailers and there is a significant price reduction then you really have to figure out for yourself its actually the real deal or not. I feel in this case both sides of the argument should get busted for the ilegal tranaction. [ + quote]