Copyright Law

U.K. Man Sued for Libel over Feedback on eBay

By David Ardia

The Telegraph is reporting that a U.K. man has filed a libel lawsuit over negative feedback he received from a buyer on eBay:

Chris Read used the auction website's feedback facility to claim that the device he was sold by Joel Jones, a 26-year-old businessman from Suffolk, did not live up to its billing.

"I was told the phone was in good condition, but there were scratches all over it, a big chip out of the side and it was a different phone. I paid for a Samsung F700 and got a Samsung F700V," Mr Read said.

After returning the phone and asking for a refund, Mr Read, 42, a mechanic from Herne Bay, Kent, posted his feedback, saying: "Item was scratched, chipped and not the model advertised on Mr Jones's eBay account."

. . .

Defending his decision to proceed with court action, Mr Jones said he believed that the feedback was "unfair, unreasonable and damaging" given that he had given Mr Read his money back. 

I think this is the first libel lawsuit we've seen stemming from negative feedback on eBay. Anyone else seen one of these before?

Full post as published by Citizen Media Law Project on October 24, 2008 (boomark / email).