SIIA Announces Holiday Tips for Software Gift Givers

Software Buying Guides for Online Purchasing Available to Consumers on SIIA Website

WASHINGTON, Dec. 4 -- The Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) today warned consumers to be on the lookout for pirated software this holiday season. The number of people who innocently purchase or receive pirated software as gifts increases during the holidays as shoppers look to stretch their gift-buying budgets. While the price may be right, selling and distributing pirated software is costly to all consumers.

"Popular video games, business applications and home software have all been widely copied and distributed illegally," said Keith Kupferschmid, SIIA's SVP of Intellectual Property Policy & Enforcement. "If a shopper is in a rush, or just looking for the best deal, it's easy to unintentionally purchase a pirated application, wrap it up and give it as a gift."

Despite steep discounts, illegal software always comes with a hidden price tag. Users will not have access to technical support or upgrades, and patches that repair software vulnerabilities will also be unavailable. Worst of all, pirated software can come loaded with a virus or other malicious code.

Pirated software is not sold only off the back of trucks or at sidewalk stands. Many pirates set up professional-looking web sites and/or "crooked" auctions through eBay or other auction sites.

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. For further information, visit www.siia.net/piracy.

In order to assist consumers in buying legal software on auction sites, SIIA has posted three Buyers' Guides on its website at http://www.siia.net/piracy/education.asp#sbg. They are entitled How to Avoid Buying Illegal Software, How to Buy Legal Software on eBay, and What You Need to Know About OEM and Academic Software.

Below are warning signs to help consumers spot software pirates selling products through

auctions:

1. If the price is too good to be true, it is. For example, $20 for a $200 retail-priced piece of software is not going to be legitimate.

2. Check the seller's reputation. Don't be fooled by seeing the label "Power Seller" or an equivalent rating. Instead, check their user comments and note if sellers have any neutral/negative feedback from buyers claiming fraud.

3. Check the seller's other auctions. Find out if this seller has placed ten, twenty, or more auctions for the same piece of software, all at an unbelievably low price. If so, this situation is almost always an indicator of pirated software.

4. Check the seller's history. Determine if the seller has recently appeared and started selling massive amounts of the same piece or set of software products. If so, that's another red flag.

5. Check the location of the seller. Are they offering products from another region of the world? In addition to the potential for piracy, you may be purchasing software that will be incompatible for your computer. If the product is coming from a foreign country, you might be buying software that will not run on US computers, will run in a foreign language, OR may be unlicensed for the US. Many auction sites provide you ample information on the true location of the seller which will allow you to make this assessment.

6. Offers to sell outside of the auction. If the seller is willing to cheat eBay, he'll probably cheat you as well.

To learn more about warning signs and to access the full buying guides, please visit www.siia.net/piracy/education.asp.

About SIIA

The Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) is the principal trade association for the software and digital content industries. 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.

  Media Contacts:
  Eileen Bramlet, SIIA Communications, 202.789.4469, ebramlet at siia.net
  Brian Kaminski, Rational PR, 202.429.4942, briankaminski at rationalpr.com