Forget Breakfast, Ebay Eats Tiffany's Lunch

What happens when the panache of Tiffany's trademark collides with the formidable eCommerce engine of eBay? The context of the battle was Tiffany's action against eBay for trademark infringement on the basis that eBay failed to police its sellers to remove counterfeit goods falsely bearing the Tiffany trademark. By this inaction, Tiffay complained, eBay directly and contributorily infringed upon Tiffany's trademark. eBay responded that whenever Tiffany told it to remove counterfeit goods from ongoing auctions on eBay's website, eBay immediately did so. Tiffany responded that removal at that late date was not enough; eBay should have anticipated infringement of Tiffany's mark; for example, by removing sellers listing more than 5 Tiffany-branded items before the auctions commenced. (Apparently sellers of 4 Tiffany-branded items were usually legitimate, but sellers of 6 items were crooks.)

The case comes before Judge Richard Sullivan in the United States District Court, New York City, for a bench trial. Evidence heard (we don't know if Audrey Hepburn's ghost appeared in support of Tiffany's) and arguments considered. Decision - eBay off the hook.

In his decision (PDF doc here), the Court finds that eBay can lawfully use and allow its sellers to use the Tiffany mark to advertise or sell genuine Tiffany goods, something that lawyers call a trademark's "nominative use. " Further, the Court refused to impose a duty on eBay to take action in anticipation of possible infringement and found that it was enough for eBay to have removed particular counterfeit items when Tiffany told eBay about them:

The law does not impose liability for contributory trademark infringement on eBay for its refusal to take such preemptive steps in light of eBay's 'reasonable anticipation' or generalized knowledge that counterfeit goods might be sold on its website. Quite simply, the law demands more specific knowledge as to which items are infringing and which seller is listing those items before requiring eBay to take action.

Since there is a lot of stake here, Tiffany's will probably appeal this decison. Audrey and her blue boxes may yet prevail. Dinner will be served at the US Court of Appeals in the upcoming months. Who will walk away satiated?

Thanks for blogging with me thus far.

Summer Quaffing - Our Picks!

There have been a few pleasant surprises in the course of this Summer's winetasting, and if you have been stuck in the rut of Chardonnays for white, Cabs for red, and some sort of fizzy water for sparkling, you might be interested in some recent discoveries:

On the Red Front: A family friend visiting us in Leland brought a bottle of Cab Franc. I was somewhat skeptical, having always identified Francs as blending wines. Also, the Michigan Francs are known to be acidic. But this Franc was the 2005 Franc from Cosentino Winery and was very nice indeed with deep plum and lighter cherry notes with a slightly smoky finish. It paired extremely well with the Raclette cheese from the Leelanau Cheese Factory.We're anxious to try this one again!
On the White Front: Some of the lighter whites have hit the spot recently, including Michigan's own Left Foot Charley 2007 Pinot Blanc, Kim Crawford's 2006 Marlborough Pinot Gris, and for an excellent value from France, La Vieille Ferme Cotes du Luberon Blanc, forget this name, just look for the 2 chickens on the label and a price point under US $10! The latter is a crisp, fruity, dry white wine made from several Rhone Valley grapes: Grenache Blanc, Bourboulenc, Ugni Blanc, and Roussanne. Great for quaffing.



On the Sparkling Front: Unfortunately, the meltdown of the US Dollar has resulted in French Champagne becoming quite expensive. So, falling back on California production, we can heartily recommend the Mumm Napa Brut Prestige. It doesn't have the French refined finish (what I call "subtle bubbles") but a valiant attempt nonetheless at a price point around US $20.

And finally the Big Surprise: My annual bottle of French Brandy was recently empty, so I pondered its replacement. Hiding on the bottom shelf of a local wine/spirits purveyor was a Spanish Brandy with the rather intimidating name of Cardenal Mendoza Solera Gran Reserva with a Wine Spectator rating of 91 and a price point of US $50. This is great stuff, sweet coffee and caramel notes, and it clears the sinuses nicely too! Prefer it over the similar-priced French Martell VSOP.

So, imbibe the above in good health and with good cheer. And don't drink and drive, or you will need the services of one of my barrister brothers and sisters! And they don't come cheap, I hear.

Thanks for blogging with me thus far.