Can i take ebay to small claims court

leepatston

Hello there.
This is the story.


I designed a piece of jewellery 2 years ago and patent the design.
since I have been selling it on ebay some people have copied it and now are selling it, I have filled out the ebay Vero design infringement paperwork and faxed it to them, they have received it and have replied to me, they are being extremely unhelpful and simply do not care. I think they only care about the big boy brands who can come at them with law suits.
I want to take them to a small claims court so they have to take this matter seriously, I don't really care about getting money off them, I just want to stop the other people selling my design and I fell this may be a way.


Any thoughts would be appreciated.


Thanks, lee

wealdroam

leepatston wrote: »

Hello there.
This is the story.


I designed a piece of jewellery 2 years ago and patent the design.
since I have been selling it on ebay some people have copied it and now are selling it, I have filled out the ebay Vero design infringement paperwork and faxed it to them, they have received it and have replied to me, they are being extremely unhelpful and simply do not care. I think they only care about the big boy brands who can come at them with law suits.
I want to take them to a small claims court so they have to take this matter seriously, I don't really care about getting money off them, I just want to stop the other people selling my design and I fell this may be a way.


Any thoughts would be appreciated.


Thanks, lee

Surely if anyone should be sued, it should be the people copying you patented designs, shouldn't it?

And I don't think patent infringement is a small claims issue either.

DevCoder

What geographical scope does your patent cover (I assume you have been granted the patent?)
Where are the copycats based?
What was the part of the jewellery that was patented (i.e. its unique idea).

esuhl

I don't know, but I imagine that all eBay have to do to comply with the law is to verify that you are the legitimate rights holder and remove the specific listings that you object to. If they aren't doing this, then MAYBE you could sue them for damages. But I'd definitely speak to a lawyer first!

Otherwise, if eBay are complying with the law but people are still breaching your patent rights, then you could sue them for damages. But, are you absolutely sure that your patent is being infringed? Is it possible that the method you have invented isn't the only way to make the jewellery...?

Which patent office(s) did you register your invention with? Unless you registered with WIPO, your patent will only apply to a certain geographic region. Is it possible that the jewellery is being manufactured somewhere where the patent doesn't apply? In that case, it might be worth trying to find out who the importer is...

Just a few random ideas...

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1977/37
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patent_infringement_under_United_Kingdom_law

leepatston

It is a design patent, so purely the shape/design. I have the paperwork for it.
It is registered with the intellectual Preperty Office

The people are in the uk.


I thought rather than try and get the details of the people who have copied, I would take it up with ebay, as they have a system in place to stop this, but don't really seem to care about me.


Thanks, lee

tomtontom

What have ebay actually said? Please be more specific than 'they don't care'.

leepatston

Well, if they even reply, it is like a merry go round, they say they cannot see what the infringement is, then I explain in detail, then they either wont reply or it will be a different person who replies saying something along the lines of we cant see any infringement. When there is clearly a infringement.


Would I have any luck with the small claims court ?




Thanks, lee

cookie365

Get proper legal advice.

wealdroam

leepatston wrote: »

Would I have any luck with the small claims court ?

Against Ebay? Almost certainly not.

I cannot see that Ebay have done anything other than not support you in you fight against those who allegedly have infringed your patent.

As said above... seek legal advice.

Buzby

No, you cannot raise a SC against eBay, for two reasons. (A) They are not the infringer of your patent - they are simply a venue for sellers and as such do not control to licence sellers. (B) They are a Luxembourg company, so you would need to raise an EU SC which costs considerably more, and you still run the risk of the court not agreeing they have done anything wrong.

If your rip-off merchants are in the the UK, you can pursue them - but not through SC, as they are not going to disclose their sales or can be made to cease using the design. You need a property right lawyer to deal with this on your behalf.

wealdroam

Buzby wrote: »

No, you cannot raise a SC against eBay, for two reasons. (A) They are not the infringer of your patent - they are simply a venue for sellers and as such do not control to licence sellers. (B) They are a Luxembourg company, so you would need to raise an EU SC which costs considerably more, and you still run the risk of the court not agreeing they have done anything wrong.

Your second reason, point (B), isn't right.

Ebay.co.uk are quite happy* to be sued in the UK.
From their User Agreement:

In simple terms, "non-exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts" means that if you were able to bring a claim arising from or in connection with this User Agreement against us in Court, an acceptable court would be a court located in England, but you may also elect to bring a claim in the court of another country instead. English law will apply in all cases.

*happy might not be the word Ebay would use.