eBay not responsible for policing counterfeits, says US court
21 July 2008
Eileen McDermott, New York
A US court has said that eBay cannot be held liable by jewellery store Tiffany & Co for direct or contributory trade mark infringement, a ruling which contradicts a French court’s recent holding in a similar dispute
Tiffany filed a complaint against eBay in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York in 2004 alleging that the company failed to stop the sale of fake Tiffany products on its online auction site.
In addition to trade mark infringement, the complaint also alleged unfair competition, false advertising and direct and contributory trade mark dilution.
Tiffany specifically claimed that eBay failed to control the illegal activities of counterfeit sellers despite having been notified that a problem existed and that it was therefore guilty of contributory trade mark infringement, which could have had far-reaching implications for eBay's business model.
But ruling last Monday...
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