Intellectual Property Law

Amicus Briefs in Tiffany v EBay Case

By Marty Schwimmer

Wired: Auction Websites Hang In Legal Limbo:

The latest vocal entrant into the legal debate is the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Public Knowledge and Public Citizen (.pdf). If Tiffany prevails on appeal, online marketplaces would likely come "to a halt," the groups said in a court filing Wednesday. They urged the appellate court "to reject Tiffany's effort to rewrite trademark law to relieve mark-owners of their traditional obligation to police their own marks, online and off."

Amazon and Google, (.pdf) as well as Yahoo (.pdf) and others have sided with eBay. The Council of Fashion Designers of America (.pdf) and the International Anti-counterfeiting Coalition (.pdf) have urged the court to side with Tiffany.

Full post as published by Trademark Blog on December 05, 2008 (boomark / email).