Tue Apr 1 2014 22:08:30 |
Should eBay Provide Seller Identities in Brand Disputes?
By: Ina Steiner
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May Kay Inc. is asking a court for the authority to depose eBay representatives in order to learn the identities of sellers that claim to sell genuine Mary Kay products, according to the Dallas News. The firm has been trying to get its cosmetics off of eBay since at least as far back as 2003 when EcommerceBytes wrote about a crackdown to prevent consultants from selling on eBay.
A former consultant cited the first sale doctrine in her defense when she faced a jury in a trademark dispute with Mary Kay. (See Wednesday's Newsflash story.) But the company said she had signed a contract agreeing not to list its products on eBay.
In its battles with online sellers, the company often cites the percentage of expired products it finds for sale on eBay. For example, the Dallas News wrote, "Mary Kay listed about 50 eBay user names such as birdie60, gracefully13, frisbeegirl80 and techwarriorprincess that it says are selling products under its trademarks and copyrights. The company said the products are expired, "many years past their respective shelf lives.""
Interestingly, a search of eBay this evening for the term "Mary Kay" came back with 70,392 results; a similar search on Amazon.com netted 13,139 results.
Should people be allowed to sell Mary Kay cosmetics on eBay or other venues, whether or not they have ever been consultants? Should eBay hand over the identities of sellers in trademark disputes?
Let us know what you think of first sale doctrine versus intellectual property rights. |
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