engine - 3:12 pm on Nov 27, 2007 (gmt 0)

For years, eBay has defined itself simply as an online marketplace that links buyers and sellers. But in a weeklong bench trial in Federal District Court in Manhattan that ended last Tuesday, lawyers for Tiffany & Company argued that the online auction house was far more than that: it is a distribution network that enables the trading of counterfeit Tiffany items. If Tiffany wins its case, not only could other lawsuits follow, but eBay’s business model could be threatened because it would be difficult and extremely expensive for the company, based in San Jose, Calif., to police a site that now has 248 million registered users worldwide and approximately 102 million items for sale at any one time.

Tiffany & Co Argues eBay is Distribution Network For Counterfeits [nytimes.com]