Judge rules in favour of eBay

Tiffany had sued eBay in 2004, arguing that most items listed for sale as genuine Tiffany products on eBay's sites were fakes. But US District Judge Richard Sullivan in New York ruled that eBay couldn't be held liable for trademark infringement 'based solely on their generalised knowledge that trademark infringement might be occurring on their Web sites.' The Chicago Tribune reports that the judge said that when Tiffany notified eBay of suspected counterfeit goods, eBay 'immediately removed those listings.' Although the online auction company refused to go further, by pre-emptively taking down suspicious listings for Tiffany jewellery, the judge said eBay didn't have to make such a move. eBay spokesperson Nichola Sharpe said that the ruling 'confirms that that eBay acted reasonably and has adequate procedures in place to effectively address counterfeiting.' Judge Sullivan said: 'It is the trademark owner's burden to police its mark. Companies like eBay cannot be held liable for trademark infringement based solely on their generalised knowledge that trademark infringement might be occurring on their Web sites.' The Boston Globe notes that the ruling could play a key role in deciding the ground rules for doing business over the Internet in future. Legal experts said the decision would stop similar lawsuits. Full Chicago Tribune report Full report in The Boston Globe