eBay files infringement lawsuit

eBay has filed a 13 count lawsuit in the Northern District of California alleging that the http://www.worldauctions.com/ Internet site infringes on its auction system. A copy of the complaint is available here.

According to the lawsuit, the “eBay” mark is one of the “famous and recognizable marks in the world”. eBay alleges that the worldauctions web site has the same look and feel as eBay’s site.

The lawsuit also alleges that the owners of the worldauction web site have signed up for various eBay accounts and interrupted eBay’s blogs and message boards. The defendants are accused of “seek[ing] to misappropriate eBay’s proprietary user feedback ratings and display them as feedback ratings on the WorldAuction site, in order to create a false and misleading impression of trust and reliability.”

eBay has alleged the following violations: Federal Trademark Infringement, Federal Trade Dress Infringement, Federal False Designation of Origin, Common Law Trademark Infringement, Common Law Trademark Infringement, Trademark Dilution in Violation of California law, Federal Copyright Infringement, Violations of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, Violation of the Computer Crime Act, Intentional Interference with Contractual Relations and Prospective Economic Advantage, Unfair Competition, Common Law Unfair Competition, and Breach of Contract.

Despite the apparent similarities between the two web sites, one major difference is that the worldauction web site does not have much for sale. eBay has millions of things for sale. No one will be confused between the two sites.