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eBay Beats Tiffany in Court Case Over Trademarks - Down 1%
(Midnight Trader Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Boston, Jul 14, 2008 (MidnightTrader via COMTEX News Network) --
A federal judge ruled that eBay (EBAY) can't be held liable for trademark infringement against companies such as Tiffany (TIF) "based solely on their generalized knowledge that trademark infringement might be occurring on their web sites."
Such companies are responsible for policing their trademarks online.
Tiffany had sued eBay over the sale of counterfeit jewelry on eBay's sites.
Last month, a French court ordered eBay to pay more than $61 million to LVMH, which complained it was hurt by sale of knockoff bags, perfume and clothes. EBay is appealing that ruling.
EBay says it spends tens of millions of dollars each year to combat counterfeiting. Last year, 50,000 sellers were thrown out for counterfeits, with 40,000 previously suspended sellers blocked from returning.
Separately, the company will ban dog and cat pelt sales on its German-language web sites after animal rights groups voiced concerns that such pelts might be showing up labeled as other kinds of fur.
The ban would go into place on Tuesday on eBay's German-language sites, covering eBay's operations in Austria, Germany and Switzerland.
The ban would be extended to France, Italy and Spain, with more European countries to follow. A previous ban is already in place in the United Kingdom.
Price: 27.60, Change: -0.41, Percent Change: -1.46
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