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Tiffany sues E-Bay over counterfeit jewelry

Posted By: Dan LundriganI just found this article on Yahoo News. I didn`t know how to post the link so I copied the text.I wonder how this could affect our Hobby if Tiffany prevails in it`s lawsuit. Leon if you think this is too off topic.Please delete Tiffany & Company, the famous New York-based jewelry retailer, is suing San Jose, California-based online auction firm eBay for allowing its Web site to be used to sell counterfeit jewelry. The landmark lawsuit also alleges that eBay, in addition to facilitating sales of fake Tiffany goods, also makes millions of dollars from fees charged for counterfeit sales. Two years ago, Tiffany bought several hundred items on eBay and found that three quarters of the items purchased were counterfeit. The Tiffany lawsuit, which originally was filed in 2004 in a New York State court, is expected to go to trial by the end of this year, according to press reports. Death Blow If Tiffany wins its case, eBay's business model could suffer a severe blow, as this would open the door for other brand owners to sue it over counterfeit sales. But eBay claims it is only a marketplace that brings together buyers and sellers, and cannot be held responsible for sales of counterfeit items. "We are disappointed that Tiffany filed the suit, given that we have cooperated with their brand-protection efforts for several years through our Verified Rights Owner (VeRO) program," said Hani Durzy, an eBay spokesperson. "Through VeRO, we have worked with Tiffany to develop substantial proactive monitoring efforts and given them the tools to report problem listings, which we promptly remove." Durzy said that eBay will continue to cooperate with Tiffany along these lines but will fight the legal action because "its claims are without merit." "If the court finds in Tiffany's favor, this would set a precedent and would place additional pressure on eBay to ascertain the provenance of goods sold," said Stacey Quandt, research firm Aberdeen Group's director of security solutions and services. "Determining whether this would be a death blow depends on the damages and the number of fraudulent goods sold on eBay," said Quandt. "The outcome could also spark both legitimate and fraudulent insurance offerings to protect consumers." Hidden Agenda Martin Reynolds, an analyst with research firm Gartner, said he suspects Tiffany has a hidden agenda in wanting to sue eBay. "Tiffany would really like to restrict secondary sales of its products, as this would then force people to buy exclusively from Tiffany," he said. "The net effect would be to increase Tiffany's sales." It is not cost-effective for Tiffany to go after all the second-hand antique stores that sell genuine and counterfeit Tiffany products, Reynolds said. "But if this lawsuit scares eBay into taking all Tiffany products off its Web site, then Tiffany will have managed to strike a major blow against second-hand sale of Tiffany items." Reynolds said that eBay has a policy of immediately taking action when it determines that counterfeit products are being sold on its Web site. "EBay has a team of people and also computer systems, which trawl its site in search of counterfeit items," he said. "But it is not possible to catch everything. If someone displays a photograph of some Tiffany jewelry, how can eBay tell whether it is genuine?" If Tiffany is going to sue eBay for profiting from counterfeit sales, then it should also go after the credit-card companies whose cards are used to pay for purchases of counterfeit items, Reynolds said. "You could even argue that it should also sue the U.S. government, because people use U.S. banknotes to buy fraudulent items," he said. Slippery Slope "It becomes a slippery slope when a marketplace like eBay is held responsible for the products sold on the site," said Forrester analyst Sucharita Mulpuru. "It's like the Pasadena flea market at the Rose Bowl being held liable for every fake product or tchotchke sold through its venue." The responsibility of policing items really rests with the buyer when products are being resold, said Mulpuru, whether it's a swap meet or an online auction. "That said, I see Tiffany's point of view," said Mulpuru. "It diminishes their brand when fake products are sold under their name, especially when those products are positioned as genuine." Mulpuru believes it will be impossible for Tiffany to succeed in getting every fake item removed from eBay. "I would be really surprised if eBay is ultimately held liable for misrepresented items on its site," Mulpuru said, suggesting that the lawsuit's main purpose might simply be to send a signal to illegal resellers that someone's watching.

Tiffany sues E-Bay over counterfeit jewelry

Posted By: Joe P.No accounts have become the role models of this country.

Tiffany sues E-Bay over counterfeit jewelry

Posted By: DJI was going to post this last night but wasn't sure how this would be received here. I would love to hear the lawyers of the Board talk about the chances of Tiffanys coming away with a victory here. DJ

Tiffany sues E-Bay over counterfeit jewelry

Posted By: Joe P.It would be interesting to read the takes on this.

Tiffany sues E-Bay over counterfeit jewelry

Posted By: davidcyclebackIt would be impossible for eBay to authenticate everything on their website. In fact I would submit that, other than any items eBay sells itself, it is impossible for eBay to authenticate any thing on eBay. I currently have for sale on eBay a old MastroNet auction catalog. There is no way eBay can determine with 100% certainty that this catalog is authentic. While the item is authentic and I received it directly from MastroNet, how is eBay to know that I haven't pasted a Xerox copy of the cover to a National Geographic? eBay should take due care against fraud and fakes, but the idea that eBay should authenticate everything is silly. Though I must admit that the idea of eBay taking a percentage of the take for the sales of fakes and frauds is hard to stomach. In fact, part of Tiffany's contention is that, as eBay takes a percentage of every sale, they should take more responsibility towards authentication. Another point is that, according to Tiffany at least, the vast majority of Tiffany jewelry on eBay is fake. eBay takes out Yahoo and google 'word key' ads-- where if you type 'Tiffany jewelry' into google you will get an ad link to tiffany products on eBay. Tiffany feels eBay is not only wrongly using their trademarked name with these ads but, more importantly, is adverting fake Tiffany merchandice.

Tiffany sues E-Bay over counterfeit jewelry

Posted By: t206Kingwell its like anything else u buy these days. if its fake , they loose out tough lose. tiffany is trying to make things worse for ebay thats all. if tiffany bought fake jewelry tough ****, there problem not ebays. i;m sick and tired of hearing on the news with this counterfiet stuff being sold. if u dont have enough knowledge in what your buying dont buy it!!! its just liek going to a flea market and buying somethign u think is real, if its not, tough **** your lose.......

Tiffany sues E-Bay over counterfeit jewelry

Posted By: JohnThat’s a real shame I really hate to see such a nice girl involved in such an ugly legal battle..... <img src="http://photos.imageevent.com/piojohn3/smileys/small/tiff.jpg">

Tiffany sues E-Bay over counterfeit jewelry

Posted By: jay behrensI've read some other articles on this case and it should prove interesting. From what I understand, they are going to being siting the Napster ruling as their basis for the claim. They say that if Napster, which was only venue for contacting people, is found liable for the illegal transfer of music, then by that same reasoning, eBay can held accountable for the transfer and sale of fake Tiffany items. Should prove to be very interesting and it makes sense to me. If Napster couldn't hide behind the "we are only a venue connecting people" then why should eBay be able to do it. Jay I've just reached Upper Lower Class. I am now officially a babe magnet for poor chicks.

Tiffany sues E-Bay over counterfeit jewelry

Posted By: davidcyclebackWith file sharing, the key is whether the company promotes illegal use of the software. Illegal use by the users itself is not enough. Grokster was recently shut down not due to copyright infrigment itself, but because Grokster promoted illegal file sharing. Grokster made it's money by advertising, so they liked any and all use of the software. Communications from Grokser excecutives showed that they wanted and promoted illegal use of the software as a means to make more advertsing money ... Napster was a different situation as Napster held all the music on their servers and, thus, was more responsible for illegal copying. Grokster, the company not the software, never held any files, as the software allowed direct person to person exchange.

Tiffany sues E-Bay over counterfeit jewelry

Posted By: Joe P.And Moses parted the ocean, and the lawyers came rushing in.<img src="/images/happy.gif" height=14 width=14> Now I'm wondering what would happen if you and I were curious as to how Jurors would view the No Account Evil Empire Case?

Tiffany sues E-Bay over counterfeit jewelry

Posted By: davidcyclebackTiffany has a number of different legal arguments. In my opinion, if the whole thing went to trial, Tiffany would lose the major arguments (a higher court won't force eBay to be responsible for authenticating everything on eBay), but could win one or to lesser but not insignificant arguments. If it is shown that 95 percent of the Tiffany jewelry on eBay is fake (Tiffany's contention), Tiffany would have a good argument that eBay should not be allowed to advertise itself as a source of Tiffany jewelry (which it does).

Tiffany sues E-Bay over counterfeit jewelry

Posted By: Dan LundriganLook what`s happening in New York. I found this today as well.Here are a few of the highlights from the news article I read. I won`t post the whole article here,if you want to read it go to Yahoo for it. With so many moving targets, companies and attorneys battling the city's booming knockoff trade — some estimates put it at some $23 billion annually — are increasingly taking aim at the only people standing still: landlords. Since the spring, luxury bag maker Louis Vuitton Malletier — part of the LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton conglomerate — has forced the owners of 18 Canal Street buildings to settle lawsuits claiming they had knowingly looked the other way while tenants hawked thousands of cheap fakes. Jewelry maker Tiffany & Co. sued eBay in 2004, claiming the online auction site had facilitated counterfeiting by allowing thousands of bogus Tiffany items to be sold each year. Like the owners of brick-and-mortar buildings, eBay's defense has been that it merely provides a place for people to advertise, and isn't itself involved in handling or selling merchandise. I think both E-bay and Tiffany have some valid points to there respective cases.It will be interesting to see how this ends up.However I feel like it won`t change a thing for us with regard to all the fake cards cropping up on E-Bay. A $23 BILLION estimate annually in the knockoff trade man that is a TON of crap! Does anyone have a guess at how much money is spent on fake cards,autographs and such in a year? I`m guessin around $5 mil a year.