On July 14, 2008, U.S. District Court Judge Richard Sullivan in New York ruled that eBay is not liable for counterfeit items sold on its online auction website. In fact, District Court Judge Sullivan held, a company, like Tiffany in this case, has the responsibility to do its own policing for counterfeiting and other trademark infringement issues relating to its products sold online.
eBay calls the ruling a "major victory for consumers." However, the ruling also comes on the heels of a French court ruling last month, which ordered eBay to pay Louis Vuitton $61 million for similar "knock-off" items sold on eBay that infringed on LV's trademark rights. eBay has appealed the French court ruling.
Regardless, the July 14, District Court Judge ruling is an important victory for eBay and its online competitors. As District Court Judge Richard Sullivan's 66-page opinion states, "Brand owners must be vigilant [in protecting trademark interests online]."
Separately, in a yet to be settled question of law, the district court judge also said that eBay could use the Tiffany name in its ads, both on its home-page and in sponsored links eBay buys on search engines such as Google and Yahoo. Important lawsuits still pend in the area of search engines and related internet advertising.
Here is one eBay press release on the favorable ruling for eBay (eBay-EBAY issues statement on Tiffany ruling) and a clip from the eBayInk Blog, on the company's victory (eBay Wins Tiffany Court Case).
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