Tiffany caught in a legal tryst

A response by Tiffany & Co’s. in its lawsuit against eBay, has caused Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), Public Citizen and Public Knowledge, to file a brief, requesting a U.S. Court of Appeals to reject the retailer’s "attempt to rewrite trademark law and create new barriers for online commerce and communication."

As per the original eBay lawsuit, Tiffany noted that as and when the sellers display counterfeit Tiffany goods on the eBay site for sale, the website is responsible for trademark infringement. Tiffany also held eBay accountable to police the listings and trademarks. The court ruled in July that eBay could not be forced by trademark law to police another company's trademark. Tiffany filed an appeal in August.

EFF requested that Tiffany's attempts to expand trademark law be rejected, as it is impossible for a website like eBay to track the goods on sale, which eBay itself never sees. According to EFF officials, if intermediaries are required to police trademarks, then many Internet service providers (ISPs) would take the easy road and delete even the remotely suspicious products, causing a reduction of the variety we see today online.