The German subsidiaries of Microsoft and eBay are intensifying their collaboration on preventing software piracy, threatening to sue individuals who sell illegally copied software.“We’ve been working with eBay since 2002 to track down and prosecute groups and individuals organized as commercial entities that have tried to sell illegal copies of our software over the Internet,” said Thomas Baumgartner, a spokesman at Microsoft Deutschland. “Now we’ve decided to intensify this cooperation to include private individuals who attempt to sell illegal copies of our software.”The collaboration with eBay is not a corporate-wide initiative, but rather an effort by Microsoft’s German subsidiary to battle software piracy in a country that, only a few years ago, suffered from one of Europe’s highest levels of software piracy, according to Baumgartner.Germany’s share of illegally copied software dropped 2 percent to 27 percent in 2005, reducing software vendors’ estimated loss of revenue by 300 million euros (US$384 million) to a total 1.5 billion euros, according to the Business Software Alliance. It was the first drop in software piracy in Germany since BSA started publishing figures on the German market in 1999. “We decided it was not enough to go just after commercially organized groups, but also private individuals who try to make money on eBay with software they’ve illegally copied,” Baumgartner said.Microsoft has taken numerous commercially organized groups to court over software piracy allegations and sued for damages in civil suits, according to Baumgartner. “Now we plan to do the same with private individuals,” he said. The German subsidiary has a special group of people monitoring the eBay website, looking for possible software pirates and making “test purchases” to confirm product authenticity.Customers who detect foul play or are concerned that they may have illegal copies can send their products directly to Microsoft’s Product Identification Service, Baumgartner said.By John Blau, IDG News Service (Dusseldorf Bureau)Related Links:• Microsoft Faces Class-Action Suit over Antipiracy ToolThis article is posted on our Microsoft Informer page. For more news on the Redmond, Wash.-based powerhouse, keep checking in. Check out our CIO News Alerts and Tech Informer pages for more updated news coverage. Related content brandpost Sponsored by Freshworks When your AI chatbots mess up AI ‘hallucinations’ present significant business risks, but new types of guardrails can keep them from doing serious damage By Paul Gillin Dec 08, 2023 4 mins Generative AI brandpost Sponsored by Dell New research: How IT leaders drive business benefits by accelerating device refresh strategies Security leaders have particular concerns that older devices are more vulnerable to increasingly sophisticated cyber attacks. By Laura McEwan Dec 08, 2023 3 mins Infrastructure Management case study Toyota transforms IT service desk with gen AI To help promote insourcing and quality control, Toyota Motor North America is leveraging generative AI for HR and IT service desk requests. By Thor Olavsrud Dec 08, 2023 7 mins Employee Experience Generative AI ICT Partners feature CSM certification: Costs, requirements, and all you need to know The Certified ScrumMaster (CSM) certification sets the standard for establishing Scrum theory, developing practical applications and rules, and leading teams and stakeholders through the development process. By Moira Alexander Dec 08, 2023 8 mins Certifications IT Skills Project Management Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe