Ebay & Jewelry Trademark Issues

[highend]

Okay purchased some jewelry from a person who claimed they had Tiffany & Co. jewelry that was real and purchased in bulk @ wholesale prices. So I decided to buy a few things & thought I would sell it on Ebay. Well I listed and shortly after it was taken down and i received this letter;

This firm is counsel to Tiffany & Co., the owners of the federally registered Tiffany & Co. Trademarks; Tiffany, T & C ect. ect. ect.

It has come to tiffany & Co. attention that you are illegally offering for sale and selling merchandise bearing counterfeit copies of the Tiffany & Co. Trademarks (the Illegal Merchandise) on ebay.com

Your actions are likely to cause confusion and constitute trademark counterfeiting and infreingement and dilution of Tiffany & Co.'s intellectual property rights in violation of both federal and state laws. The penalties for such conduct are sever and may include injective relief, actual damages, statutory damages of up to $2,000,000 for each trademark that has been counterfieted, costs and attorny fees.

On behalf of Tiffany & Co. we demand that you immediately cease and desist from any and all offering for sale, sale, distrubition, important, manufacture, advertisement, pomotion and display of illegla merchandise. We also demand that you do the following;

1. Surrender all illegal merchandise in your possession, custody or control
2. Provide the identity of the source of the illegal merchandise
3. Make payment to Tiffany & Co by bank or certified check, or money order for all damages and costs incurred by Tiffany & Co in connection with your illegal conduct, in the amount of $450.00

We strongly urge you not to contact the supplier of the Illegal Merchandise or take any other action which would interer with our clients ability to eliminate illegal merchandise from the marketplace and will hold you responsible for the complicity in any such actions to maximum extent provided by law

blah blah blah we await a response from your counsel**************.

So....
1. I purchased this stuff thinking it was real and was like WOW, I got a killer deal. It all came in legit boxes with paperwork and bags. I even gave my gf a necklace thinking it was real.

2. When I did list on ebay, I was aware that they sell a lot of fakes and could be spotted, so I took VERY detailed pictures of the jewelry for this reason.

3. I dont and wont send them anything without any type of immunity, who says they wont turn around and do something.

So what can I do? Or say? I dont want to pay them anything for something I didnt even sell or do wrong (in my mind). HELP!

[FlyingRon]

Originally Posted by highend

1. I purchased this stuff thinking it was real and was like WOW, I got a killer deal. It all came in legit boxes with paperwork and bags. I even gave my gf a necklace thinking it was real.

You were foolish. Designers don't sell there stuff in bulk. The "too good to be true" pricing is obvious.

2. When I did list on ebay, I was aware that they sell a lot of fakes and could be spotted, so I took VERY detailed pictures of the jewelry for this reason.

For what reason? It's not legal to sell fakes no matter what you say or how great your pictures are.

3. I dont and wont send them anything without any type of immunity, who says they wont turn around and do something.

So what can I do? Or say? I dont want to pay them anything for something I didnt even sell or do wrong (in my mind). HELP!

Your "mind" is immaterial. You were trafficking in counterfeit designer merchandise. You can take their settlement (it will almost certainly absolve you from further liability for the sales you have already made), or you can risk them suing you. How likely that is to happen is speculation.