Why businesses should be wary of going after eBay fakes

The Internet may not be completely lawless, but it does facilitate infringement of intellectual property laws on an unprecedented scale.

How do you stop infringement when it is occurring on such a huge scale? Some companies have gone after the intermediaries such as eBay and Facebook, which provide the platform on which users can exchange goods and content so freely.

As the law stands, however, the middlemen are generally immune from prosecution provided they remove infringing material from their sites as soon as they are notified of any potential infringement.

 This sound like a sensible approach. lt gives lP owners a quick and efficient mechanism for protecting their rights without placing burdensome restrictions on popular sites such as eBay. But there is a catch. lP owners keen to prevent copycatting of their products, brands and ideas are often unaware that asserting what they consider to be genuine rights may give rise to liability.

 It may seem surprising, but lP owners who request intermediaries remove "infringing" products from their sites can themselves be sued for an injunction and damages by the person or company they have accused.

The rationale is: an accusation that a business has infringed lP rights may result in that business ceasing to sell the allegedly infringing item. The business as a result may lose revenue, while public allegations may damage its reputation. The allegations may be made by a competitor or in bad faith; and even if they are made honestly, they may have no legal basis. In the UK, the law on patents, trade marks and designs makes such allegations actionable.

Take eBay's Verified Rights Owner (VeRO) programme. Under VeRO, you can notify eBay, via an online form, that there is material on the auction site infringing your intellectual property rights, such as a design right or a patent. eBay's standard response is to remove the highlighted material without - understandably, for reasons of expediency - any investigation of the merits of the claim. This immediately deprives the seller of his point of sale. eBay is contractually entitled to do this, but what if the VeRO notification is unfounded and there is no infringement? The alleged registered design right or patent may not have been granted. You may not actually own the right in question. Or there may just be no infringement.

Notification programmes such as VeRO are therefore a double-edged sword: at first sight, they are useful tools for lP owners to have infringing material removed from the lnternet. But unsuspecting lP owners can find themselves on the receiving end of an injunction or damages claim.

This puts the UK out of line with other countries in Europe and elsewhere, where no such provisions apply. For the time being, lP owners should be cautious about notifying an ISP of alleged infringement.

Exercise 2. Translate the following terms and word combinations, write down unknown words. 

 

completely lawless; facilitate infringement; intellectual property; unprecedented scale; prosecution; infringing material; potential infringement; infringing item; legal basis; via an online form; a double-edged sword; highlighted material; damage its reputation; reasons of expediency

 

Exercise 3.   Find the equivalents of the following word combinations in the text.

посредник; контрафактный материал; судебное преследование; беспрецедентный масштаб; подражатель; судебный запрет; заявление; пользующийся неприкосновенностью

 

Exercise 4. Translate the following sentences.

1) The Internet may not be completely lawless, but it does facilitate infringement of intellectual property laws on an unprecedented scale.

2) As the law stands, however, the middlemen are generally immune from prosecution provided they remove infringing material from their sites as soon as they are notified of any potential infringement.

3) It may seem surprising, but lP owners who request intermediaries remove "infringing" products from their sites can themselves be sued for an injunction and damages by the person or company they have accused.

4) This puts the UK out of line with other countries in Europe and elsewhere, where no such provisions apply.

5) This immediately deprives the seller of his point of sale.

 

 

Exercise 5. Which of the following statements are true and which are false?

1) Some companies have gone after the intermediaries such as eBay and Facebook, which provide the platform on which users can exchange goods and content so freely.

2) This sound like a sensible approach.

3) In the UK, the law on patents, trade marks and designs makes such allegations actionable.

4) You may actually own the right in question.

5) But unsuspecting lP owners can’t find themselves on the receiving end of an injunction or damages claim.

 

GRAMMAR

 

Past Simple

Form