posted on February 1, 2001 09:15:18 AM new
Assuming that:
1. Resale of a Blue Widget is illegal,
2. You notify SafeHarbour about a specific listing for a Blue Widget and they don't do anything,
3. You notify the Blue Widget company and they send an email to eBay instructing them that the resale of Blue Widgets is a violation and they must end the auction,
4. eBay ends the auction.
Did you know that if you do a subsequent search for Blue Widgets and find 250 more listings for this item, and you once again notify SafeHarbour, they won't do anything unless the Blue Widget Company instructs them to end each and every auction individually by refering to the auction ID and the seller's name for each and every one of them?
Does this sound like a stall job by eBay to allow these listings to run as long as possible so they can collect their listing and selling fees?
Or, do you think that eBay is too dense to realize that a warning about one Blue Widget applies to all Blue Widgets?
posted on February 1, 2001 10:52:32 AM new
Their argument would probably be that they have no way of knowing if it is really and AUTHENTIC blue widget, without input from the Blue Widget Co., and therefore can't justify ending the remaining auctions.
always pickersangel everywhere http://homepage.netspaceonline.com/~twobar/pickers.htm
posted on February 1, 2001 11:15:05 AM new
In this case, all of the "Blue Widgets" are identical, and they are copyrighted. If there was ever a question (excuse for non-action?) about > authenticity < of any Blue Widget, then it would be an obvious violation (a copy)!
posted on February 1, 2001 11:26:34 AM new
I didn't say it was logical....just that their reasoning would run something like that.
always pickersangel everywhere http://homepage.netspaceonline.com/~twobar/pickers.htm
posted on February 1, 2001 01:51:40 PM new
Hello RB,
eBay does not act on its own. It does not look for infractions. That is the reason that each infraction must be reported in order for eBay to take action.
Now, if the Blue Widget company were to report multiple auctions and eBay came back and said that they had to be reported individually then I might agree that eBay is stalling.
posted on February 1, 2001 02:40:32 PM new
May have a lot more to do with liability. The law says the copyright holder has to notify the ISP/site that an item on that site is infringing. The site then must take it down. If the person who put the item up claims it is not infringing, then the copyright owner must show the site a court order in order to prevent the site from allowing the item to be reposted.
If ebay were to take it upon themselves to determine that an item has to be taken down there is no way for the person posting it to protest the item is legal...nor does the court order part of the law come into play, meaning the person who may have legally posted the item has no legal way to fight the removal. Could put ebay into a difficult legal position.
The law puts the burden on the rights owner to determine someone is infringing on their rights and to instruct the site to remove offending material.
posted on February 1, 2001 02:50:39 PM new
Well, I got them on the ropes now! I have had the CEO of the Blue Widget Company contact eBay directly. When I asked eBay how they intended to deal with the proliferation of Blue Widgets listed on their venue, here is how eBay have responded to me:
Hello XXX,
Unfortunately, how we handle the claim will be determined by our legal department in conjunction with the information provided to us from Mr. XXX.
Once he contacts us the legal department and the VeRO program will review the information and a determination will be made at that time on how to proceed.
Regards,
Emmett
eBay Community Watch Team
Then, when I pushed a little further, I got this from "Emmett":
"Although future emails from you will be read, unless they contain additional information for review, we will be unable to respond."
posted on February 1, 2001 05:04:43 PM new
If Ebay were to take action against all auctions for Blue Widgets and make a determination as to which auctions are legal and which are not, they would no longer be able to escape liability for their listings.
This would demonstrate an ability for Ebay to assume responsibility for any damages as a result of infringing items being sold on their site. This can never and will never happen. If Ebay were to cancel all auctions for "Mary Kay" items just because "Mary Kay" said their product could only be sold by ladies in pink cars and not on Ebay, then Avon could sue Ebay for failing to cancel Avon auction.
posted on February 1, 2001 06:33:16 PM new
figmente ... because the CEO of the Blue Widget Company has said resale of his product is illegal ... and he has said it in writing both to me and eBay. Something to do with royalties ...
