eBay's VeRo program and how it works regarding trademarks

You may have heard of the program  "VeRo" by now if you have had the opportunity to do any reading up on the situation with the trademarked words Reborn Baby Doll that I posted about a couple of days ago.

I was not aware of VeRo before this week.

I've gone to eBay to copy and paste exactly what it is:

 

How eBay protects intellectual property (VeRO)

We're committed to protecting the intellectual property rights of third parties and to providing our members with a safe place to buy and sell. We created the Verified Rights Owner (VeRO) Program so that intellectual property owners can easily report listings that infringe their rights.

We require that a rights owner be registered through VeRO before reporting items to us. Rights owners sign legally binding documents when reporting items to eBay.

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Note that I highlighted in red that last statement.  I believe it is an important statement in the cause to shut down the claims of infringement violation from  Amy Duncan Wilson.

Here is how a person registered in the VeRo program goes about having auction pulled for intellectual infringement:

Overview of VeRO

eBay developed the Verified Rights Owner (VeRO) Program to help protect not only intellectual property, but the consumer as well.

Highlights of the program include:

• Expeditious removal of listings reported to eBay by more than 5,000 intellectual property rights owners
• Proactive monitoring and removal of listings that violate eBay policies designed to prevent the listing of infringing items on eBay.
• Ability to save searches and have the results emailed to you
• Suspension of repeat offenders
• Cooperation with rights owners seeking personal information on alleged infringers

Because intellectual property owners are ultimately responsible for protecting their intellectual property, and eBay isn't an expert in an intellectual property owner's rights, we need your help in identifying listings that you believe may infringe your rights.

How to report a listing to eBay

If an item or listing infringes on your intellectual property rights, you can report the alleged infringement by submitting a Notice of Claimed Infringement (NOCI) to eBay's VeRO program. 

 The NOCI is located here.

You can complete the NOCI by filling out, printing and signing, then emailing/faxing the completed form to us. Once your initial report has been processed, we will provide you with information on how to submit additional reports, if necessary, through other electronic means.

eBay's VeRO Program may be contacted at:

By email:

• vero@ebay.com

 By fax:

• (801) 757-9521

If you are unable to fill out the Notice of Claimed Infringement you can report copyright claims via a DMCA notification to eBay's designated agent by providing the following information:

1. a physical or electronic signature of the person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the copyright that is allegedly infringed;
2. identification or description of the copyrighted work that you claim has been infringed;
3. identification or description of where the material that you claim is infringing is located on the eBay site, with enough detail that we may find it on eBay's website;
4. your address, telephone number, and email address;
5. a statement by you that you have a good faith belief that the use of the material complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law;
6. a statement by you, made under penalty of perjury, that the information in your notice is accurate and that you are the copyright owner or authorized to act on the copyright owner's behalf.

eBay's agent designated to receive claims of copyright infringement may be contacted as follows:

By mail
eBay's Designated Agent
583 W. eBay Way
Draper, UT 84020

By fax
(801)757-9521

By email
copyright@ebay.com

eBay has adopted and implements a policy that provides for the termination in appropriate circumstances of the accounts of users who repeatedly infringe copyrights or other intellectual property rights of eBay and/or others.

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Again I have highlighted in red an important statement.

Amy Duncan Wilson has had to physically submit an infringement for each and every auction and listing that has been shut down.  HER violation to those artists and her contract with eBay is that her ONLY trademark is on the three words put together and capitalized:  "Reborn Baby Doll".  Many, MANY artists have had their auctions and listings removed for using any of those three words, specifically "Reborn" which is NOT in violation of Amy Duncan Wilson's trademark.   

eBay did NOT do this...eBay was only doing what SHE told VeRo to remove...and remember, she signed a LEGALLY BINDING document with eBay.  To me that means that she needs to be HONEST in her reports to eBay.  

  

When artists write back to Amy Duncan Wilson through the generated emails they receive when their auctions and listings are canceled, Amy Duncan Wilson responds with something like, "You can relist your item just do not use the words "Reborn Baby Doll" as they are my trademark.  Hopefully eBay won't catch your words in their violation search."

 

Again, it is clear that she, through the VeRo Program is the one who activated the auctions listing removals based on any use of the words, not just all three words used together.

One artist in particular, Elizabeth Parks for her listing using the words "Reborn Doll".

Elizabeth has been in contact with eBay and also eBay's VeRo program and both agree that she was not in violation for the trademark "Reborn Baby Doll".

Both eBay and the VeRo program make these suggestions for now:

Break up the words "Reborn Doll" with something like:

"Beautiful Reborn Lifelike Doll"

 

or in another case this was suggested:

"Zach a reborn doll"

 

Notice that "reborn doll" is not capitalized.  The trademarked words are capitalized and "Baby" is added to it.  

 

Violations only occur to the words "Reborn Baby Doll" exactly written like that but it appears that Amy Duncan Wilson does not know what the parameters of her trademark are.

 

If you are a victim of action/listing removal and you have not "violated" the trademark 

"Reborn Baby Doll", please do submit a rebuttal through eBay so that your account is not tainted with a violation and so that you can get your reborn doll in front of the collectors who love them.

 

We are all going to hang in there....we got this!

XXOO