Trade Group Names Top 10 Pirated Software

The Software & Information Industry Association said it hit several milestones in its fight to preserve copyright protections last year.

The SIIA released its Anti-Piracy Year in Review this week, noting that it reached its largest piracy settlement with an auction site and its first settlement through its Corporate Content Anti-Piracy Program.

The trade association for the software and digital content industry said it received 427 reports claiming corporate end-user piracy and 17% of the tips were "judged sufficiently reliable to pursue." The SIIA said that most of the pirated software consisted of productivity tools, including word processing, office suites, report design, and Web design.

In the report, SIIA touted its corporate software piracy case against Florida Benchmark, which cooperated with SIIA, conducted an audit, found it used unlicensed software, and settled with SIIA for $150,000. And, under its Auction Litigation Program, SIIA scored a $250,000 settlement for Symantec software in Symantec, et al. v. Chan, et al.

Also last year, SIIA expanded public education and outreach through new campaigns like: "Don't Get Mad, Get Even," which encourages consumers duped into buying counterfeit software to provide tips in exchange for cash. The industry group also published three new Software Buyer's Guides on how to spot and avoid illegal software on auction sites.

Under its Corporate Content Anti-Piracy Program, SIIA settled its first case while advocating for the Associated Press, Dow Jones & Co., Nielsen, Reed Elsevier, and United Press International.

Knowledge Networks agreed to a $300,000 settlement and committed to take remedial measures after the SIIA claimed it had routinely taken and distributed copyrighted articles through an internal "press packet."

Finally, SIIA created a Certified Software Reseller program, which encourages consumer confidence by allowing vendors to advertise they have been certified.

"As we continued to aggressively pursue those who illegally sell or distribute pirated software and content, we also increased our educational outreach efforts in 2007," Keith Kupferschmid, SIIA senior VP of Intellectual Property Policy and Enforcement, said in a statement. "By balancing enforcement with education, SIIA was able to crack down on illegal software sales and help consumers avoid purchasing pirated software. We also made strides in helping legal, public relations, and other professionals effectively do their jobs within current copyright law."

SIIA also created a list of titles most pirated by companies last year. They include: Symantec Norton AntiVirus, Adobe Acrobat, Symantec pcAnywhere, Adobe Photoshop, Autodesk AutoCAD, Adobe Dreamweaver, Roxio Easy CD/DVD Creator, Roxio Toast Titanium, Ipswitch WS_FTP, and Nero Ultra Edition. The most frequently pirated software titles on the Internet last year were: McAfee VirusScan, Symantec Norton AntiVirus, McAfee Internet Security Suite, Intuit TurboTax, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Acrobat, Intuit Quicken Home and Business, Symantec Norton pcAnywhere, Symantec Norton Ghost, and Adobe Creative Suite.