International Law

The Gray Blog: eBay wins against Tiffany's

eBay lost in France; eBay won in the US.

As summarized by Jorge Espinosa, writing at the Grey Blog,

"After a devastating ruling from a French Court, reported previously in the Gray Blog, and a user revolt over terms of payment, E-Bay has finally received some good news.

In a sixty page decision District Court Judge Richard J. Sullivan of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York has ruled against Tiffany on all counts.

The Court vindicated anti-counterfeiting procedures presently employed by eBay and other online auction services and confirmed that the burden of policing online sellers rests squarely on the shoulders of the trademark owner.

The decision in this case is in stark contrast with recent decisions by French courts which seek to obligate the on-line services to serve as gatekeepers, content monitors and policemen for their users."

Jed also has a very interesting post about the relationship between the luxury brand manufacturers and the grey market:

"It is a common misconception amongst those who have a passing knowledge of the parallel market that it is universally despised and opposed by trademark owners/manufacturers.

This is far from true.

Although the battle between trademark owners and parallel market resellers usually garners the headlines, there is a cooperative relationship between many manufacturers and the parallel market."

This is very interesting; and it raises the question about the French case why LVMH was trying to prevent eBay from enabling alternative distributive channels. Read the whole article, as it has a neat twist.

Full post as published by Misleading Advertising Law on July 16, 2008 (boomark / email).