I am ANNOYED!! at ebay removing my listings!!?

Question

I have had my listing removed from ebay for no real reason. I have been selling customised clothing on ebay.
I was selling Foo Fighters tops with logo. But the Logo I used is not copyrighted!! How can they remove my listings saying I am breaching copyright or trademark laws.
I HAVE ALWAYS LISTED MY ITEMS AS CUSTOMISED.
Also I had some band photo T-shirts. I made sure that nothing I use is copyrighted before I list my items but my items were still removed!!!
Are there any lawyers out there that know about these matters?
They are telling me i have broken the law but as far as I can see I have done NOTHING wrong.

SERIOUS ANSWERS ONLY PLEASE
YOUR OPINIONS ARE APPRECIATED. THANKS.

Answer 1

From the descriptions you have given, it is almost certain that you have infringed the band's copyright - not least because you are using their name and image to sell goods without their knowledge or agreement. The fact that you list the goods as customized is totally irrelevant in terms of copyright infringement.



Ebay is not telling you that you have broken the law. They are telling you that you have breached the terms on which ebay will allow you to post your goods for sale on their site. That is their absolute right (read their terms and conditions) and they are not obliged to explain why they removed your listing. This is a fairly common occurence with the type of goods you are describing because, as another answerer has already pointed out, the issue of copyright on these goods is a minefield and ebay does not want be associated with that.



Look at it realistically - they have to police tens of thousands of items every day. They cannot enter into detailed correspondence on each item they suspect might be contrary to their policies, so they just delete them and send you a notification. My advice is to not post items on ebay that could be construed as infringing copyright.

Answer 2

shellanswerman said:



"If your listing said "OFFICIALLY LICENSED" then they'd leave you alone unless someone complained because you sent them something under the guise of officially licensed, and it turned out to not be officially licensed."



--If your stuff is NOT "OFFICIALLY LICENSED" then you better not list it as such or you will get your listings removed again.



If you are putting Foo Fighters logos on clothing that you have made then the clothing is basically a fake. Like all those fake coach handbags all over ebay.



You cannot use someone else's name on your product. If you have an authentic Foo Fighters top then you can resell that.



If you keep relisting these items ebay will suspend your account and then you won't beable to sell anything!



It doesn't matter if another seller is doing the same thing---ebay is breathing down your neck right now and they aren't going to let up!



Most likely, someone from Foo Fighters has complained to ebay about your listings and ebay removed them becasue they don't want to deal with them. Read through all the crap at the link below.



http://pages.ebay.com/help/tp/programs-vero-ov.html

Answer 3

Foo Fighters Ebay

Answer 4

The REAL issue is that you are using someone else's reputation and fame, and depending on the artwork, their likeness, to make money -- this is known as invasion of privacy or appropriation of likeness, a civil wrong (also known as a tort)



If you had Abraham Lincoln t-shirts, or Ronald Reagan t-shirts, these would be okay as long as the image on the shirt wasn't copyrighted by anyone else. why?? There is no invasion of privacy and appropriation of likeness when applies to deceased persons.



If ebay leaves your FF merchandise on the site, they become subject to being sued for invasion of privacy because they are in the chain of commerce and would definitely be found, in court, to have known or "likely" known that your material was not explicitly authorized by FF. And if FF's people sue, who are they going after - you, a single seller, or Ebay, a company with deep pockets??? (ebay could then turn around and sue you for indemnification, if FF got a judgment against them)



Your saying "CUSTOMIZED" on your listings has nothing to do with it. It is no legal protection at all for you or for Ebay.



If your listing said "OFFICIALLY LICENSED" then they'd leave you alone unless someone complained because you sent them something under the guise of officially licensed, and it turned out to not be officially licensed.



I'm going to leave it at this - stop selling the stuff or get smarter about your listings.

Answer 5

If you go through the help pages, you can usually get to a "Live Help" option and speak to an ebay rep. I've had issues with them taking down listings and they aren't always clear with their answers. The other problem is when you email for more assistance, they tend to just send you a copy of the help page even though I always say that I read it first and it didn't help me! Since then, I always try to get to the Live help option and "speak" to someone directly. You might try the members helping members part, too.

Answer 6

Of course the logo you used is copyrighted.



A logo is a creative work, and all creative works are copyright the moment they are made. So even if you made the logo yourself, it's copyright - but you own the copyright.



Even then your items would still be illegal, because the "NAME" of the band is a trademark, and you can't use someone else's trademark without permission.



If the photos of the band that you printed on t-shirts were photo's that YOU took, in a public place, then you own the copyright to them, and those shirts are legal. If someone else took the pics, they own the copyright. If you took them, but at a venue such as a concert, then 'usually' the ticket terms and conditions prohibit photography, which makes the shirts illegal.



Richard

Answer 7

Same thing happened to me.

Not much you can do about it I'm afraid.

I wasn't breaching copyright, I made sure of it, but they still pulled my listings.

Just have to take your left-over stock down the market and see if a stall holder will take them off your hands.

Good luck with everything.

Hope you come up with some new ideas for T-shirt designs.

Answer 8

Do you know for certain that the logo is not copyrighted? If, not, hire an attorney and sue ebay. It shouldn't cost more than several hundred thousand dollars.

Answer 9

Perhaps your logo's look too much like an original logo. and isnt customized spelled with a z ? Perhaps its the fact that you used "Foo Fighters " now if you were to perhaps advertise "Fuu Fighters" maybe they would let it stay. Good Luck.

Answer 10

hmm i'm not sure why, but it might be because it wasn't the bands official merchandise. If you put on your listing that you made it, then that's probably why they took it down.

Answer 11

they did that to me once when i was selling an evisu top, its annoying because everything is done via email and u don really get a straightforward answer. i re listed it and just edited the title and it seemed to work

Answer 12

Im an Ann summers rep and im not allowed to put pics of the toys on there either, naturally I agree that its Adult content and people may be offended, but they are listed in the adult section under the heading Adult toys....