False claims of counterfeiting.

[monkphin]

Just wondering what my standing is here, I recently received some headphones as a manufacturers replacement under its 12 month warranty, which since I have upgraded MP3 Player/Phone I have no further need for. I listed them on Ebay on Monday evening, 24 hours later I was told by Ebay they had been taken down for copyright infringement and I needed to contact the manufacturers legal team to find out why and ask if I could relist them.

Sent an email to the manufacturer, who replied and told me in no uncertain terms I was dealing in counterfeit goods.

I have replied to them since but am still to yet receive a reply. What standing do I have in this situation, as far as I can tell this is essentially a form of Defamation, since i am being falsely accused of selling counterfeit goods and have had my auction (Which had a few watchers) pulled, along with my right to sell something I own denied.

I am tempted to pass this story onto a few tech sites, however before I do this I am curios as to how to best handle the situation and stay completely legal and not damage any potential case I may have against the manufacturer.

 

[presutin]

I would be very careful if I were you when it comes to passing any information that you don't know the legal consequences of your actions. I disagree with you that this is an essential form of defamation. Unless you can prove otherwise, the item you put up for sale has a copyright and a patent and as such, the manufacturer is entitled to protect its goods from being illegally sold anywhere unless you are granted permission by them to do so. Unfortunately, in my opinion, you don't have a legal case and I strongly suggest that you stop attempting to sell the item anywhere without their permission.

 

[dee_dub]

presutin is right, this is not defamation.

What reasons did the manufacturer give you for thinking you were dealing in counterfeit goods? ARE they counterfeit goods? If you got the headphones from the manufacturer under warranty, I'd have thought they would not be counterfeit. And as far as I know, the manufacturer does not have the right to prevent you from reselling something that a) is rightfully yours, and b) is not counterfeit (and thus does not violate their copyright).

 

[monkphin]

They aren't counterfeit, several emails later the manufacturer has confirmed this much. they have also agreed to let me relist them.

However, it does raise the alarming issue that they seem to not be actively seeking counterfeit goods on Ebay, but just asking Ebay to take down auctions at seeming random without initially checking. To prove the items weren't fake, I was asked to submit a photo of them, which was the very same photo I used on the original auction, not a legal issue, but definitely one that should cause complaint.

In terms of resale, their is no law against this anywhere in the UK, nor internationally as far as I am aware.


Thanks for the help