Aggressive Campaign to Protect Consumers and Businesses from Software Pirates Continues

WASHINGTON, Nov. 12 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA), the principal trade association for the software and digital content industries, today announced the filing of six new software piracy lawsuits. On behalf of SIIA member Adobe Systems Incorporated, SIIA investigated and filed this latest round of lawsuits against various online sellers who either sold infringing copies, including counterfeit versions, or illegally sold educational and OEM versions without authorization.

"These six lawsuits represent the latest battle in SIIA's fight to protect its members, and consumers, from software piracy," said Keith Kupferschmid, Senior Vice President of Intellectual Property Policy & Enforcement for SIIA. "Sellers in these cases have swindled both consumers and Adobe by illegally copying or selling well-known Adobe software products."

"Software that seems too cheap to be legitimate probably is not," said Scott Bain, Litigation Counsel for SIIA. "Buyers need to understand the risks they take when they purchase software online from third party Web sites and auction sites. You may think you are getting a deal, but often these sales are fakes that do not work, come with no customer support and may often contain computer viruses that could seriously breach your personal security, or may be versions you are not authorized to use. At the end of the day, the buyer has wasted his or her money."

The lawsuits charged the following people with knowingly engaging in copyright infringement through the fraudulent sale of Adobe software:

• Joshua Christenson, Softwaresurplus.com, Las Vegas, NV
• Claude Marku, Nikknak.com, Woodhaven, NY
• Kaliopi Petropoulos, eBay.com (Seller ID: idatatek)
• Paulo Santos, Purplus.net, San Rafael, CA
• Ronald Fletcher, Everythingoutlet.com, Arcadia, CA
• Matt Lockwood, Discountmountainsoftware.com, Denver, CO
  

SIIA also identified the defendant in another suit, already filed as a "John Doe" lawsuit. Ban Park, of the Los Angeles metro area, is charged with engaging in copyright infringement by selling pirated Adobe software on Amazon.com (Seller ID: topsoftware1).

The SIIA Internet Anti-Piracy Program aims to educate online buyers and sellers regarding the harm 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 Internet and auction piracy lawsuits, SIIA also seeks to protect legitimate sellers and unsuspecting buyers by publishing educational software buying guides for auction sites.

During the last three years, SIIA has filed more than 100 lawsuits against illegal eBay sellers as well as sellers on other websites dealing in counterfeit, OEM, academic, and other illegal software. Defendants have paid hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages, and, in some cases, criminal charges were pursued and defendants sentenced to jail time. SIIA has also successfully tracked and pursued the upstream sources of these products, and, as necessary, pursued those suppliers.

Sources can contact SIIA about a company or Web site's suspicious business practices in three ways: by e-mail (piracy@siia.net), a telephone call (1-800-388-7478), or a Web-based form (www.siia.net/piracy/report). For more information about the SIIA Internet Anti-Piracy Program, or to read SIIA's software buying guides, click here.

About SIIA

The Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) is the principal trade association for the software and digital content industry. SIIA provides global services in government relations, business development, corporate education and intellectual property protection to more than 500 leading software and information companies. For further information, visit: www.siia.net.

About SIIA Anti-Piracy

The Software & Information Industry Association's Anti-Piracy Division conducts a comprehensive, industry-wide campaign to fight software and content piracy. The pro-active campaign is premised on the notion that one must balance enforcement with education in order to be effective.

SIIA Communications Contact: John Crosby, 202.789.4469, jcrosby@siia.net

PR Agency Contact: Beth Dozier, 202.429.1883, bethdozier@rational360.com

SOURCE Software & Information Industry Association

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