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[schvarzy]

Hello,

I owe some brand names for watches, perfectly legal and valid until 2014. I did put some watches on eBay for sale and they have been removed in January by eBay who accused me of counterfeiting! I have been really upset with this. Somehow, they said that a third party did inform them that I was infringing their copyrights! I have email eBay all proper documents but they refused to listen to me and asked me to contact the person that accused me (I did but not reply of course!) .... I have asked eBay for a copy of the allegations but they refuse to give it to me without a subpoena.... eBay is in USA, the guy that made the allegations is in France, I wrote to him and his company but no reply... and I am in Hong Kong....

eBay wants me to sign a form regarding counterfeiting in order to re-activate the account. As I have not done anything wrong, I cannot sign such form!

Somehow, they do believe someone when they accuse another person of counterfeiting! They have no proof and the accusation is hard to swallow! They would not even show me the letter that they received unless they have a subpoena....

The email header was: eBay Listing Removed: Trademark Violation - Unauthorized Item!

Then they told all the customers about this!

The rights owner, XXXX, notified eBay that this listing violates intellectual property rights. When eBay receives a report of
this type of violation, we remove the listing to comply with the law.

Trademark infringement is unlawful and violates eBay's policies. A trademark is a unique sign (such as a name, word, phrase, logo, or symbol) that a company uses to identify its products and/or services.

Using another company's trademark in a way that may confuse buyers about the source of goods or services, or confuses buyers into believing that the seller is affiliated with, sponsored by or endorsed by the trademark owner is both illegal and against eBay's policies. Examples include counterfeits, unauthorized replica items and items that bear the brand or logo of a company without that company's permission.

**************
Your account was suspended for repeatedly listing items that violate the intellectual property rights of Verified Rights Owner (VeRO) program participants.
**************
As you know, eBay does not actually handle the merchandise offered for sale on our Web site. Because of this, we are unable to make judgments regarding copyrights and trademarks involved in the items offered for sale. However, we are committed to removing listings that infringe the rights of an individual or company when we are properly notified of the infringement. We developed the VeRO program to help intellectual property owners remove listings that infringe their rights.

When VeRO participants ask us to remove a listing, they must sign a legal document stating under penalty of perjury that they own the rights to the copyright or trademark used in the listing, and that the items listed infringe their rights.

We don't know exactly why the request to end the listing was made or how to avoid having the listing ended again at the request of the rights owner. The owner is not required to provide any specific information about how the listing infringes. Often, the listing may seem fine to us.
However, when we receive a properly documented Notice of Claimed Infringement, we are required by federal law to end the listing.
***************
This was Ebay'sreply....

I felt and still feel hungry! If someone wants to take the case and sew them, let me know and I could forward the details! My account with eBay is still locked as I do not want to send them a letter telling them that I will not do it again!!!

Any idea of who I may contact that could be interested in taking eventually Ebay to court for this? I can provide all the documents and a search on WIPO will show that I am correct and Ebay wrong....

Thank you,
Frederic 

[Lyza]

I would strongly suggest that you contact a qualified attorney to represent you before eBay.  If you search the threads on this Forums you will find the names and contact numbers of several.  Good luck.

[JSonnabend]

Ebay is a disaster when it comes to wrongful accusations of infringement.  It's VERO program is heavily slanted towards purported rights owners, not the wrongfully accused.  A lawyer may be able to help, but the private nature of Ebay and the location of the accuser may make this a difficult battle to say the least.

- Jeff

[schvarzy]

Any lawyer interested of taking this case on a commission bases?  Does someone know a lawyer I can approach for that?

[JSonnabend]

The problem with contingency fee in this case (which is what "commissions" on legal proceeds are called) is that there is likely little if any monetary damages on the table for recovery.  The best you can reasonably hope for is that an attorney can convince eBay that it has wrongfully pulled your listings.

- Jeff

[schvarzy]

I am sure that if you are accused wrongly of counterfeiting, there is something that can be done.  I may already be not easy to swallow if it is someone or a small company but a major company!  I really feel bad for that.  There destroyed my reputation with people that did bid for my products and my image on eBay and other places!  If eBay tells someone that I am a counterfeiter, they will believe it.  This is a very serious accusation and maybe they could turn it another way.  They could also check things before accusation!  What would happen if tomorrow I send eBay an email saying that Coke or Channel or Cartier are counterfeiters?  Will they remove their ads or products and tell them they are counterfeiters??

I think something could be done there for the prejudice! 

I need some help for that and someone to look into it.

[jacobusjay]

Some large companies employ an attack and hide strategy.  They punish you and when you object they ignore you.

You should have due process of law but a large company will not go through a legal process before acting against you.  Instead they will act against you with or without appropriate cause.

 

[schvarzy]

I can see that!   

I think something could be done there for the prejudice!  I need some help for that!  I have all proper documents to show I am right!   

[jacobusjay]

Powerful organizations are able to act on their accusations without proof. 

Individual people do not have the power to respond in an effective way.

This is an imbalance in the law.

You might need to spend $10,000 to $20,000 to be found innocent in a court of law.  They spent nothing to exclude you.  They simple exercised their wishes.