Motorola sues to stop software sales by eBay

SCHAUMBURG, Ill.: Motorola Inc. said Monday it filed lawsuits in federal courts in several states to stop the sale of its radio service software on the online auction site eBay.

The software is a computer programme used with IBM-compatible computers to programme Motorola's two-way radios. Motorola licenses the software to its partners and customers on a restricted basis.

The suits, which allege copyright infringement, were filed in federal courts in California, New Jersey, New York and Texas.

Without its consent, the company said, five defendants acquired radio service software for many of Motorola's two-way radio models and advertised and sold the software via eBay.

Motorola said it was seeking monetary damages and an injunction to stop sales of the software, adding that it intended to pursue additional lawsuits as it identifies new violators.

EBay attorney Jay Monahan told Reuters that eBay, which is not a defendant in any of the suits, invited Motorola to participate in a programme designed to identify items that may infringe copyrights, but Motorola did not fill out a notice-of-infringement form posted on the Web site.

"I was surprised to read about the lawsuit when they had not taken advantage of our offer to cooperate," Monahan said.

EBay does not routinely monitor items listed for sale on its site for possible copyright infringement but will cooperate with rights owners who report such a problem and remove items when a legitimate claim is made, he said.

"We're not in a position to identify what is Motorola software, let alone what is infringing software," Monahan said. "One would have to be an expert on their product to know what is a Motorola product and whether it is infringing."

Shares of Motorola were up 5/16 at 33-5/16 in afternoon trade on the New York Stock Exchange.

(C) Reuters Limited 2000.