Auction Websites Hang in Legal Limbo
Heavyweights in the online world are weighing in on a lawsuit that threatens to derail internet retailing. The case is being brought by Tiffany against online auction site, eBay.
The lawsuit, before the New York-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, claims eBay is liable for contributory trademark infringement because it refuses to police its site for infringing materials. Viacom is making the same argument in a pending copyright lawsuit against Google's YouTube.
A New York federal judge in July ruled against Tiffany, the high-end jeweler. The judge said eBay, the world's largest online auction site, was acting within the law because it removed auctions from the jeweler's counterfeited goods when notified by Tiffany. "The law demands more specific knowledge as to which items are infringing and which seller is listing those items before requiring eBay to take action," U.S. District Judge Richard Sullivan wrote in July.
