Why did Tiffany & Co. sue e-bay in 2004?

On June 14, 2004, the luxury jewelry giant, Tiffany & Co, sued eBay in for a variety of trademark infringements, claiming that eBay had facilitated and promoted the sale of thousands of pieces of counterfeit Tiffany jewelry. Tiffany claimed that any user trying to auction off an item that is a "knock-off" Tiffany products, and even real Tiffany products, should not be allowed to use the "Tiffany" name in their description or product title. eBay claimed in its defense that it was a platform for buyers and sellers to interact and that it is therefore not liable for counterfeit items posted by sellers. EBay maintained that brand manufacturers are responsible for identifying the fake items and requesting their removal. Whenever Tiffany detected and notified eBay of a "knock-off" or "counterfeit" item being sold on eBay's site, eBay immediately removed the auction post and left sellers who felt unfairly fingered to take it up with the rights holder. On July 14, 2008, U.S. District Judge Richard Sullivan of Manhattan ended up ruling in favor of eBay in a lengthy 66-page ruling. The ruling referenced the "Nominative fair doctrine" to back up their ruling. The nominative fair doctrine permits the public's use of trademarked names when the names are used to specifically reference the trademarked name's products, services, etc. However, eBay made clear that they could not remove the "Tiffany" name from actual "Tiffany" products sold on their site. The courts agreed,saying "...To identify Tiffany jewelry without using the term Tiffany ... would be both impractical and ineffectual in identifying the type of silver jewelry available on eBay...". The court added that "Tiffany must ultimately bear the burden of protecting its trademark". The court victory came after three similar cases which eBay lost in European courts.In August of 2008 Tiffany announced that they would appeal the case.

• 1
• 1