Ebay let off over fakes - If you're going to sell fake Rolexes, do it in the US, not Europe

By Andrew Thomas @ Tuesday, July 15, 2008 7:28 AM

Section - Business/Legal

In a bit of a change of fortune, online car boot sale Ebay has been let off by a US court in a case brought by upmarket earring retailer, Tiffany. After a four year legal tussle, the District Court in Manhattan ruled yesterday that the online retailer did not have a legal responsibility to prevent its users from selling counterfeit items on its online marketplace

The jeweller had demanded compensation from Ebay over its sale of fake shiny things, but the judge ruled that online retailers were not duty-bound to verify that goods on sale were genuine. This is a rather more relaxed attitude than that taken by courts in Europe, where Ebay was recently fined $63.2 million for selling fake posh handbags and watches in France.

The court ruled that Tiffany had failed to demonstrate that Ebay knowingly encouraged others to dilute Tiffany's trademarks.

It could be argued that shoppers might have an inkling if a Rolex advertised for sale was genuine or not on the basis of the asking price: A $10,000 one is probably genuine, whereas one priced at $99.99 may possibly be an imitation. X

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