SIIAGunningForOnlineSoftwarePirates

eBay'slatestmarketingcampaignproclaimsit's"betterwhenyouwinit"andencouragesbiddersto"shopvictoriously,"butwhenitcomestobuyingandsellingsoftwareontheonlineauctionsite,it'sthevendorsthataredoingallthelosing.Afull35percentofallsoftwareinstalledonpersonalcomputerslastyearwaspirated,accordingtoIDC,meaningmorethan$40billioninlegitimatesaleswerelosttoshadycharactershawkingtheirill-gottenwaresonthestreetsofShenzhenoratfleamarketsinDesMoinesor,moreandmoreeveryday,ateveryone'sfavoriteplaceto"win"online:eBay.PartlybecauseoftheefficiencyandanonymityoftheprocessandpartlybecauseofeBay'shighlypopular"BuyItNow"transactionoption,softwarepiratesaremovingastaggeringamountofstolenorcounterfeitsoftwarethroughthesitetobuyerswhoareapparentlyoblivious,indifferentorboth.Andthesituation,accordingtoinvestigators,issooutofcontrol,nobodycanofferupevenareasonableguesstimateastohowmuchillegalsoftwareissoldeachday,monthoryearonthesite.Vendorsaren'tstupidandthey'renonetoopleasedbythisdevelopment,buttheyandtheauthoritiescan'tseemtodomuchtostemtheflowofillegalsoftwarebecausethey'reconstantlyplayingcatch-uptoprofessionalcrookswhosetupmultiple—sometimeshundreds,maybeeventhousands—sellerIDs.Whetherit'sMicrosoftWindowsVistaorSymantecNortonUtilitiesorAdobePhotoshop,eBaybidderscanpickandchoosethesoftwaretheywant,makeabidandconcludethesaleinminutes,leavingnothingbutatrailofuselessfeedbackcommentsandemptylinksbehind.SteppingtotheforeinthisdecidedlyuphillbattleistheSoftwareandInformationIndustryAssociation(SIIA),atradeassociationrepresentingmorethan800softwareanddigitalcontentcompanies,ofwhichmaybetwodozenareactivemembers.ThetradeassociationinMay2005launchedwhatitcallsitsAuctionLitigationProgramtomonitoreBay—andtoalesserextentsmallernicheauctionsitesandrogueWebsites—toidentifyindividualsandgroupssellingpiratedsoftwareonline."There'salotofmoneytobemadeinillegalsoftware,"KeithKupferschmid,theSIIA'sseniorvicepresidentforintellectualproperty,saidinaninterviewwithInternetNews.com."It'sacombinationofstolensoftwareorOEMsoftwarethat'ssomehownotsoldwiththehardware.Sometimesit'sacademicsoftware.Sometimesit'scounterfeit.Usuallyit'sbeingsoldbyanindividualwho'sjusttryingtomakeabuck."