Trademark Law | Expert Legal Commentary
May 10, 2010
Tiffany v. eBay: General Awareness of Mass Infringement Not Enough to Establish Contributory infringement
Tiffany (NJ) Inc. v. eBay, Inc.
By
Jeffrey J. Zuber of Zuber & Taillieu and Yuri Mikulka
The Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has affirmed that brand owners are ultimately responsible for policing and fighting counterfeits, even when a high volume of infringement occurs in one outlet. In Tiffany (NJ) Inc. v. eBay, Inc., 600 F.3d 93 (2nd Cir. 2010), the Second Circuit held that a service provider like eBay only becomes liable for contributory infringement if it continues to provide its services to a specific individual who it knows, or has reason to know, is selling counterfeit goods. The Circuit Court remanded the false advertising claims of the case for the district court to determine whether eBay’s ads falsely implied that all of the goods offered on its site were genuine.
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About the Author
Jeffrey J. Zuber is a Partner of Zuber & Taillieu, focusing on intellectual property litigation and arbitration.
