Some here seem to be missing the obvious - John Vega has a business interest in eCtune, because he is licensed by the company. It is his fight, if he wants it to be.

If I pay Budweiser to open a distributorship in the Tampa area and I find out there is a warehouse run by someone in the area illegally distributing, I am being ripped off, along with Budweiser the company.

Many of us are guilty of owning a pirate piece of something - a movie or whatever - but there is a big difference in something you have for personal use and something you are trying to profit from.

I could have a pirate copy of the new Indiana Jones movie I bought for $10 on the street and enjoy it at home without ruffling feathers, but if I rent a hall and charge customers for tickets, the local movie house (which paid $thousands for its copies) has got a legitimate gripe, as does Speilberg and Lucas, who made the film.

In our scenario, Vega is the movie house that paid for his copies of the movie. eCtune is Spielberg and Lucas, who made and own the movie. It's that simple.

But this isn't apples to apples, for while a movie viewer might be just as happy no matter who he paid to see the film, a car owner who paid for an eCtune license from a non-approved tuner isn't getting his money's worth. eCtune is not bound to back the tune or honor the license if the person comes back for a retune on eCtune if the orginal tune was not done by an authorized tuner.

That said, the circumstances and degree of impropriety (if bogus license fees were charged car owners) is not clear to most of us, but I just wanted to point out that it is not only eCtune that is gettng hurt if what Vega alleges is is going on.

For example, I recently paid John Vega a car license for an eCtune. That means I am good to go and don't have to pay for another license for that car again. I would sure hate to go for another eCtune one day only to find out I don't have a valid license, according to eCtune records.