"...The Software and Information Industry Association is stepping up its battle against people who sell pirated software through online auctions. On behalf of software companies Adobe, Macromedia and Alias Wavefront, the trade group sued two individuals Thursday, accusing them of selling illegally copied software titles such as Macromedia Dreamweaver and Adobe Photoshop. The civil lawsuits, filed in U.S. District Court, mark the first time the trade group has pursued legal action against individuals it accuses of selling pirated goods through online auctions.

The SIIA plans to file more lawsuits within the next week, said Peter Beruk, the organization's vice president of anti-piracy programs. Also Thursday, the SIIA issued a study that found that as auction sites have cracked down on illegal software auctions, people have begun using more sophisticated methods to reach potential buyers. eBay, for instance, has banned sellers from offering "back-up" copies of software and software on CD-R (compact disc recordable) discs, making it more difficult for sellers to auction off pirated titles, the group reported.

But sellers on eBay have begun to contact bidders directly, using their user names and e-mail addresses published by the auction site, the SIIA reported. And some sellers who sell multiple illegal copies of the same program have begun to list each one under a different user name to avoid detection, the group said. The SIIA finally decided to sue individuals because the problem has "gotten out of hand," Beruk said..." NULL