EBay wins trademark battle against Tiffany

On the heels of a $61 million loss to French luxury goods group LVMH, eBay on Monday secured a legal victory in its trademark battle with jeweler Tiffany.

The online auction site has been battling with the luxury jewelry retailer since 2004, when Tiffany sued eBay for allegedly allowing the sale of counterfeit Tiffany items.

Judge Richard Sullivan with the Southern District Court of New York rejected the idea that eBay is responsible for policing its site for fake Tiffany items.

"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 wrote in his 66-page ruling [PDF]. "Nevertheless, the law is clear: 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 judge's decision was a "victory for consumers."

"The ruling confirms that eBay acted reasonably and has adequate procedures in place to effectively address counterfeiting," the company said in a statement. "The ruling appropriately establishes that protecting brands and trademarks is the primary burden of rights owners."

EBay chastised Tiffany for taking the battle to court instead of working with the online auction site "to more effectively fight counterfeits."