What constitutes actionable copyright or trademark infringement?

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What constitutes actionable copyright or trademark infringement?

I registered a URL that incorporates the name, “Ebay” in it. It is ebaydeadbeats.com and is for people to report cases of fraud and other illegal acts that have occurred on the Ebay site when they attempted to buy or sell products. Ebay provides no public information on this aspect of their business.Ebay got wind of this (I guess they check URL registrations) and threatened to sue me if I made the ULR into a live website. Can they sue for this?

Asked on May 18, 2012 under Business Law, New York

Answers:

SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 11 years ago | Contributor

Yes, they almost certainly can sue you. If you use someone else's intellectual property--such as ebay's registered trademark, "ebay"--without their permission, you are violating their intellectual property and they may sue you for a court order directing you cease and desist and also potentially for monetary damages. Incorporating another's registered mark into either the name of your business or its web address would be a violation of their intellectual property rights.


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