Vero & Brand Rights owner

[whtrading2013]

Can a brand rights owner have a listing removed via vero because a seller uses a particular word but not the actual brand name ?

[tobiasd4]

You are not allowed to mention a brand or refer to it unless it is the genuine item.

Some brand owners are quick to report sellers to ebay, especially Apple.

[whtrading2013]

That's what I thought. But for instance if it was not the actual brand name. If I was selling a perfume called Blue Sky Honey perfume could Marc Jacobs come along and say we have the word honey in one of are perfumes so you cannot use the word honey ?

[whtrading2013]

Anyone had this issue ?

[red_magpie]

If you read eBay's guidance on VeRO rights, you can find a complete list of registered rights owners and the particulars of what words, images or restricted sales rights the registration covers.

In practice, eBay will remove any listing that the brand rights owner reports as contravening their intellectual property rights. eBay isn't going to argue with the brands and advises sellers to take up any issues with the rights owner.

Whether brand owners can lay claim to generic terms like "honey" when associated with a brand name would be a matter for lawyers. 

I bet that eBay's lawyers had a look at the online platform ebuygumm below, but it's still trading!

[whtrading2013]

This is the issue I have the company who used the vero program to have the listing removed do not own the brand rights to the item I was selling and they do not have a trademark for the word honey associate with perfume. The IP can only come into it if a potential buyer could mistake the product I was selling for the brand rights owners product which in this case could not happen.

[whtrading2013]

So according to Vero team a brand rights owner has the power to have any listing removed even if they do not own the rights to that particular brand . Effectively they can shut an ebay business down for no reason.

[red_magpie]

So according to Vero team a brand rights owner has the power to have any listing removed even if they do not own the rights to that particular brand

As I said earlier, a rights owner can report any listing to eBay for removal because it allegedly contravenes their intellectual property or other registered rights.

That doesn't mean they have the power to have it removed - just that they have the right to report it to eBay, who does have the power to remove it.

If you read up online, you will find that eBay once faced massive punative damages (in France, I think) for failing to sufficiently protect rights owners. Hence the position now, which seems to be that eBay will not challenge disputed reports, but advises sellers to take up any concerns with the rights owner.

In practice, if a seller was to continue to defy VeRO reports eBay would probably just permanently restrict them from selling. As I said, to challenge a brand owner's claim to the rights to the use of particular names, words or images etc. would probably be a matter for the courts. You would need deep pockets before going down that road!

[whtrading2013]

I understand what you are saying but the EU trade mark should not have an affect in the UK as we are not in the EU and I only post within the UK