Yeah, you really have to watch what you buy on e-Bay. I just had my first bad experience. I bought an 'unused copy of Windows XP Pro with Product Key'. It arrived yesterday and turned out to be a burned copy with a Product Key hand written on the front of the CD. I contacted the seller about a refund and he said I got what I bought, a 'COPY' of windows XP Pro. I am now going to have to file a claim through PayPal to get my money back and report him to eBay and Microsoft.

Buyer beware...
Al

Here's some text from that eBay page (underlines are mine):

"As this is an OEM downloadable version – ie, not boxed or packed with a manual it cannot be registered, as Macromedia will have no record of the serial on their system. Registering software is mainly a way of companies to periodically send you details of their products - it does not alter the running of the software in any way."

Note that he mentions Macromedia(?), rather than Sony or Madison Media Software (creators of the Vegas products).

Also, the link they give you to download the trial software looks like it points to the Sony download page, but the actual hyperlink points to Macromedia.

(Same guy is selling codes for Macromedia Dreamweaver/Flash 8.)

The ebay listing text makes it clear that he's "not selling any software, just the activation code". That, and being on the other side of the pond, probably makes it a little tough to prosecute. Still, this is clearly ethically wrong, even if it might hinge on a legal loophole of some kind.

Tim L

It's illegal, and piracy...and nothing more. Virtually impossible to prevent, all you can do is notify Ebay that they're doing it.

I took care of this thief and reported him/her to ebay. Maybe they will do something about it.

Ebay? Do something about thieves? Not a prayer. They simply kill the listing, and don't ban the user or anything on that level. They're too afraid of lawsuits. We caught a person selling pirate copies of one of my CDs, and it was difficult to get Ebay to remove the listing, let alone help us catch the pirate.

My problem with ebay was that when i was listing some of my own animations created by myself in my own studio, they removed the listing because someone reported it as a copyright violation. I had NO recourse! There was no method for me to contact them to explain that i owned the rights to the material. Most frustrating was that there was no way to find out who made the report. I was accused without opportunity to face my accuser. The only response i got back from ebay was some boilerplate stating that if i continued to offer those items or anything similar that i would be banned permanently from selling.

*sigh* So they do go after these reports. They just choose the wrong ones to pursue.

Sorry to hear that, Kelly. But it's good to hear the other side of the story, too. I agree with you that you should have to "face" your accuser if someone says you're violating copyright, and more importantly, have the opportunity to respond and show your proof of authorship.

You'll be pleased to know that this item is no longer listed on ebay. I got an email from ebay customer support saying they would investigate it but that the outcome was between them and the seller. I think since the item is no longer listed, that pretty much says it all.

One gets taken down, three more will appear.

Shame on the seller, and shame on those who buy pirated software.

>-|

Worley

I used to be a software engineer for 20 years (until my job was outsourced to India). I recall over the years some of the companies I worked stating the huge amount of money we lost every year to illegal copies of our software being made.

Writing code is very mind and labor intensive and the people doing it should be remunerated appropriately.

Sadly, you're right about another one popping up. Take a loook...

http://cgi.ebay.com/Sony-Vegas-Movie-Studio-6-PLATINUM-DVD-Try-B4-U-PAY_W0QQitemZ7231715899QQcategoryZ41877QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem