eBay wins Tiffany case

Not responsible for fake silver jewelry sold on its site

15 July 2008 10:37 GMT / By Amy-Mae Elliott

eBay is celebrating what's being described as a "major legal victory" after a US judge has cleared it of not doing more to prevent fake Tiffany & Co jewelry being sold on its site.

All of Tiffany's trademark infringement claims - basically saying that eBay let fake silver "Tiffany" jewelry be auctioned on its site - were rejected by the court, as the conclusion of the 4-year long lawsuit was that "brand owners are ultimately responsible for protecting their own trademarks".

The judge said: "It is the trademark owner's burden to police its mark and companies like eBay cannot be held liable for trademark infringement based solely on their generalized knowledge that trademark infringement might be occurring on their websites".

eBay said the ruling was a "victory for consumers", while Tiffany said it was "shocked and deeply disappointed".

A French court recently ordered eBay to pay around £30 million in compensation to Louis Vuitton's parent company over the sale of fake goods on its site.