Sales of counterfeit goods conducted through online auction houses are said to be rife. For those companies relying on their name to sell goods at a premium, brand protection is paramount. A number of recent cases highlight the impact of the absence of controls exercised over branded goods being sold online.
This article is not concerned with ‘virtual auctions’ where an auction house uses the internet as a method of advertising stock to be sold at a traditional auction; nor where the traditional auctioneer receives bids via the internet. For the virtual auction, the law as it relates to traditional physical auctions will apply. The term ‘online auction’, however, is a reference to the type of auction seen on sites such as eBay where ascending bids from a stipulated starting point are made through the host’s website over a period of time.
