EBay escapes counterfeit rap

 

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Posted on 15 Jul 2008 at 15:23

EBay has been absolved of policing sales of fake Tiffany jewellery following a court case in the US. The luxury brand alleged that eBay had turned a blind eye to sales of counterfeit Tiffany products, but the court held that brand owners are responsible for their own trademarks.

Every one of Tiffany's infringement claims were rejected; a tough blow for the company as the court case has lasted four years so far. However, it's expected that Tiffany will appeal the decision.

Judge Richard Sullivan claimed to be sympathetic to companies that have spent years establishing their brand, only for websites to facilitate sales of counterfeits. But he conceded that eBay cannot be expected to assume responsibility for members of the public selling fakes online.

"It is the trademark owner's burden to police its mark and companies like eBay cannot be held liable for trademark infringement based solely on their generalised knowledge that trademark infringement might be occurring on their websites," he wrote.

Sullivan also revealed that the claim failed as Tiffany decided to sue eBay directly, rather than make the effort to sue the individual sellers. eBay added that Tiffany did not make the necessary effort by participating in the website's programmes aimed to help brand owners prevent fraud.

EBay hailed the ruling as a "victory for consumers", while Tiffany admitted to being "shocked and disappointed".
"All I can say to that is that I'd be surprised if Tiffany did not appeal this decision," said Mark Aaron, Tiffany's vice president of investor relations.

EBay has been caught up in a string of legal cases surrounding its efforts to curb the sales of counterfeit products. Most recently the online auctioneer was ordered to pay £30 million to luxury brand LVMH by a court in France.

Author: Dawinderpal Sahota