Open Market Service and Trademark Infringement

Liability for contributory trademark infringement may be imposed where a manufacturer or distributor (1) intentionally induces another to infringe a trademark or (2) continues to supply a product to someone who it knows or has reason to know is engaging in trademark infringement. The test for contributory infringement focuses on manufacturers, distributors of products. There has however been an open question about whether or at least to what extent the contributory infringement doctrine even applied to services. Recently, cosmetics firm L'Or��al has failed in its bid to hold eBay responsible for the sale of counterfeit goods in France. A French court said that the online auction site had done all that it had to to stop counterfeit sales. Open market such as eBay, G-Market is an electronic marketplace, not a retailer, and never takes physical possession of goods sold through its website. eBay may be not liable for contributory infringement because it does not have sufficient knowledge of specific acts of infringement on its site and,when it does, it must act appropriately to discontinue the listing. This article has focused on four important constellations of liability - liability for open market service provider such as eBay, G-Market