Court Rules in Favor of eBay in Tiffany Trademark Infringement Case

A U.S. district judge ruled on Monday that eBay cannot be held liable for trademark infringement, meaning it is not responsible for the sale of counterfeit Tiffany & Co. items on its website.

Tiffany in 2004 sought a ruling that would require eBay to remove counterfeits from its site, which it says made up the majority of the Tiffany jewelry items posted for sale on eBay.

eBay, after previously being informed by Tiffany of listings of counterfeit Tiffany items, removed them but said it wouldn’t “preemptively remove listings of Tiffany jewelry before the listings became public.” Judge Richard Sullivan ruled that “the law does not impose liability for contributory trademark infringement on eBay for its refusal to take such preemptive steps.”

eBay applauded the decision and said in a statement that it affirms “the company’s leading efforts to fight counterfeits and to support consumer choice to buy and sell authentic merchandise online.” The statement also said that the court found “Tiffany was responsible for policing its own trademark on eBay.”

Tiffany & Co said in a previous non-jury trial that eBay was a “rat’s nest” of counterfeit goods. The jeweler stated that it was “shocked and disappointed” by the decision” and may appeal.

"The court is not unsympathetic to Tiffany and other rights owners who have invested enormous resources in developing their brands, only to see them illicitly and efficiently exploited by others on the Internet," Sullivan said.

The ruling contrasts with one made a few weeks prior, in which a French court ordered eBay to pay over €40 million ($63.6 million) to luxury goods group LVMH for failing to prevent sales of counterfeit goods.