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Tiffany Sues eBay over Counterfeit Sales
Tiffany & Co., the famous jewelry store, has sought to protect its brand by suing eBay for failure to police its auctions to detect sales of counterfeit Tiffany products. During the recent trial of this action, Tiffany’s CEO testified that it is “incomprehensible” that eBay was unaware that it was a party to the sale of fake Tiffany items. He further testified that it was not economical to attempt to pursue the alleged counterfeiters on an individual basis. This case raises the question of whether a service provider like eBay becomes an accessory to the violation of a trade-mark holder’s rights by providing a market where counterfeit goods are sold.
Counterfeit goods increasingly infiltrate channels of trade, harming the businesses of the trademarks holders and often posing dangers to the public, when substandard or unsafe or falsely labeled goods are sold. Good faith efforts cannot always detect the counterfeiting, and even Wal-Mart has been stung by the discovery of counterfeit goods on its shelves.
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http://www.reuters.com/article/companyNewsAndPR/idUSN2059979820071120