eBay facing counterfeit software crackdown

Yet another lawsuit on the cards

28 July 2008 10:15 GMT / By Katie Scott

It may have just won a court case against Tiffany's but it seems eBay may be heading into yet another legal wrangle.

This time, it's not about fake jewellery or knock-off handbags, but counterfeit software.

Rumours are circling the web that a US software industry group is considering suing the auctioneer over counterfeit items.

The Software and Information Industry Association (SIIA), which counts Apple and Adobe among its members, has announced a string of lawsuits against companies selling counterfeit software on eBay.

One of these cases led to a 4-year prison sentence for the person involved and fines of more than $200,000.

But apparently chasing after often slippery individuals is getting too much of a hassle for the organisation, which is now considering just going after eBay.

According to Ars Technica, the SIIA is claiming that the online auctioneer has been less than compliant and was even unwilling to even run a paid ad describing the risks of counterfeit software on behalf of the software group.

CNET has also quoted an SIIA exec as saying: "There may be a point where we decide to go up to Congress and ask for legislation that would make eBay and other similar sites required to take what I would call 'preemptive and proactive steps' to prevent infringement on parts of their sites".

This story could rumble on for a while...