EBay Wins
A federal judge in Manhattan sided with online auction giant eBay in a suit filed in 2004 by luxury retailer Tiffany & Co. Tiffany was hoping to place the burden of maintaining and enforcing trademarks on eBay. Tiffany argued that eBay was liable for trademark infringement, dilution, false advertising and unfair competition in facilitating the sale of counterfeit Tiffany goods. The ruling is viewed as a setback for brands struggling with the sale of counterfeit goods on the Web site, which counts more than 83 million individuals as active users. A similar suit was brought against eBay by LVMH Moet Hennessey Louis Vuitton in France. In that case, eBay was found to be liable for the fakes sold on its Web site. Paris’ Tribunal de Commerce ordered eBay to pay $38.9 million euros to LVMH and cease sales of the brand immediately. An appeals court upheld the ruling earlier this month.
