WSJ 2nd UPDATE: Judge Dismisses Remaining Claim In Tiffany-eBay Dispute
September 13 2010 - 6:23PM
Dow Jones News
The lone remaining claim was thrown out Monday in a long-running
dispute between jeweler Tiffany & Co. (TIF) and eBay Inc.
(EBAY) over the sale of counterfeit Tiffany items on the online
auction website.
In April, a federal appeals court upheld the 2008 dismissal of
trademark infringement and other claims against eBay. The appellate
court said at the time that the website can't be held liable for
trademark infringement if it takes steps to remove the infringing
listings and isn't willfully blind to the sales.
However, a false advertising claim was sent back to the U.S.
District Court in Manhattan for further proceedings.
"The court concludes that there is insufficient evidence in the
extensive trial record to support a finding that the 'challenged
advertisements were misleading or confusing,'" U.S. District Judge
Richard Sullivan said in an order Monday.
Tiffany's lawsuit against eBay dates back to 2004.
The New York jeweler had argued that eBay knew it had a problem
with counterfeit items being listed on its website and did little
to clean it up. Instead, eBay insisted the obligation rested with
Tiffany to identify and alert it to auctions of counterfeit Tiffany
silver jewelry.
EBay's lawyers countered that Tiffany made a limited commitment
to fighting knockoffs and unfairly tried to shift the legal burden
to eBay.
Tiffany declined comment Monday.
"We are pleased with today's ruling, which settles the last
remaining claim before the trial court in this case," said Michelle
Fang, eBay's associate general counsel, in a statement. "The trial
court has ruled in eBay's favor on every claim brought by Tiffany,
providing an unequivocal validation of eBay's business
practices."
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