The Software and Information Industry Association (SIIA) announced the filing of eight new lawsuits against software sellers, including its first-ever lawsuits against sellers on Amazon.com and iOffer.com. These latest actions bring the total number of online auction site lawsuits SIIA has filed this year on behalf of its member companies to 40.

iOffer CEO Ryan Boyce said in an SIAA issued press release, "We applaud the SIIA in its efforts to combat software piracy. The distribution of counterfeit software on any online site is unacceptable. We hope that by assisting SIIA with promoting this initiative, anyone who buys counterfeit software by mistake will learn how to report illegal sellers."

SIIA filed the most recent lawsuits on behalf of member company, Adobe. To date, the SIIA program has led to judgments against and settlements with eBay sellers as well as sellers on other websites dealing in counterfeit, OEM, unbundled, unauthorized education, and other illegal software. Damages paid by defendants have run as high as several hundred thousand dollars. SIIA said it has also successfully tracked and pursued the upstream sources of these products, and, as necessary, pursued those suppliers.

The SIIA Auction Litigation Program aims to educate buyers and sellers on auction sites regarding the harms caused by illegal software. Among other things, sellers can be prosecuted and buyers can be faced with viruses and no technical support. In addition to the auction piracy lawsuits, SIIA has also sought to protect legitimate sellers and unsuspecting buyers by publishing educational software buying guides for auction sites.

http://www.siia.net