It reviewed Web auction sales of Adobe, Macromedia, Corel and FileMaker products and found that 91 percent of such sales involved illegal copies. In its definition of illegal, SIIA officials counted backup copies of software, as well as CD-RW software, regardless of whether the owner had a license or not. After the SIIA official was outbid, he would receive an e-mail from a seller offering software for less than his lowest bid. Yahoo is considering doing the same, Beruk said. The SIIA white paper also shows how suspected pirates are using Internet auctions to turn better than a 90 percent profit from sales of illegal software products, and how they are reaching thousands of new customers with little effort or cost.
Pirates also enjoy virtual anonymity through multiple screen names, the paper says.
It also explains the risks that consumers face when purchasing pirated software. Pages will open in a new browser window External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive. An AOL Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved. Terms under which this service is provided to you.