Adobe and Symantec have unleashed legal attack dogs on nine individuals accused of selling pirated software on eBay.

The lawsuits, filed in US District Court in the Northern District of California, are the biggest round filed to date by the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA). They're part of the SIIA's Auction Litigation Program, which monitors eBay and other sites for sales of pirated software. The program has already nabbed other pirates, the group says.

The program also pays bounties to buyers who turn in pirates who sell their wares on auction sites. Under the Don't Get Mad, Get Even Campaign, the people receive money toward legitimate software titles in exchange for providing disks and other proof of the illegal auction.

Defendants were located in the states of California, Texas, Washington, Illinois and New Jersey. They are accused of hawking illegal copies of Adobe PhotoShop and Symantec's pcAnywhere software, among other titles.

The SIIA took the action because it has not been able to get eBay to change practices the group says would curb the illegal auctions, according to this story from InfoWorld. The SIIA wants eBay to curb "Buy it Now" sales of software, which enable pirates to dump titles quickly, but so far eBay has refused, an association veep told the publication.
Lease Reviewed by Lease on . [14/2/08]Legal attack dogs chase software pirates from eBay Adobe and Symantec have unleashed legal attack dogs on nine individuals accused of selling pirated software on eBay. The lawsuits, filed in US District Court in the Northern District of California, are the biggest round filed to date by the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA). They're part of the SIIA's Auction Litigation Program, which monitors eBay and other sites for sales of pirated software. The program has already nabbed other pirates, the group says. The program also Rating: 5