Andre Yoskowitz
26 Jul 2008 13:24
The Software & Information Industry Association announced yesterday it is prepared to sue the auction giant eBay "for failing to do enough to prevent the sale of pirated software" on its site.
The group also claims that eBay refuses to take several simple steps to reduce sales of the counterfeit software. The group has had years of discussions with the site but says eBay refuses to do more than simply take down the auctions that the SIIA has deemed "pirated."
"Once notified, they will do something," Keith Kuperschmid, senior VP of intellectual property policy and enforcement for SIIA said. "What they won't do is what we consider pre-emptory, proactive measures."
A couple of these measures include "placing a notification in the buyer feedback section that the seller has had pirated items removed from the site; penalize sellers of illegal software, even if it's their first offense; and develop technology to try to find repeat offenders who use multiple identities on eBay."
The group estimates that up to 75 percent of all software sold on eBay is illegal and that the volume is so large that the group cannot even identify all the offenders.
Because eBay wont listen to these "recommendations", the SIIA is now prepared to sue the auction site. The SIIA is backed by many behemoths of the industry, including IBM and Oracle.
"It continues to be on the table," Kuperschmid added. "Does that mean we will be suing anytime soon? No. But it's definitely being discussed by SIIA and its members."
EBay is not new to such lawsuits. The jewelry maker Tiffany sued the site last year to force it to become "more proactive in removing counterfeit goods" but a judge recently ruled that eBay could not be held responsible for fake goods sold on the site.
The SIAA has so far filed 32 lawsuits this year against sellers of pirated software on auction sites and has many more planned.