In 2004, American jewelry company Tiffany & Co. sued online auction site eBay in the US District Court for trademark infringement. In the complaint, Tiffany sought to establish eBay responsible for the trade of counterfeit Tiffany goods on its popular site, saying that eBay was "liable for direct and contributory trademark infringement, unfair competition, false advertising, and direct and contributory trademark dilution. "
The suit opened the door for a number of luxury brands to sue eBay on the same grounds. In the years since Tiffany's complaint, Moet Hennesy Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior Couture, Rolex, L'Oreal fragrances, and PPR, the conglomerate that owns Gucci, Yves Saint-Laurent and Stella McCartney all put legal pressure on eBay to curb the trade of counterfeit products.
But in 2008, eBay managed to come out on top of the Tiffany case and was declared innocent by New York District Judge Richard Sullivan, who said eBay made an acceptable effort to prevent the sale and trade of counterfeit goods on its site.
Tiffany appealed the District Court's decision, but that judgement was upheld by the Second Circuit court of Appeals, eBay announced today.
"The decision is a critically important victory for online consumers who want the best prices for genuine products and underscores eBay's commitment to connecting buyers and sellers under the pillars of trust, value, and selection," eBay general counsel Michael Jacobson said today. "The ruling validates eBay's leading efforts to fight counterfeiting and its commitment to providing consumers with choice and value in a safe and trusted marketplace. We continue to support cooperation, rather than litigation, as the best way to address these issues in everyone's best interests and we remain confident that the one remaining issue in the case will be decided favorably on remand."
Tiffany and Co. is expected to take the charges all the way to the Supreme Court.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010
