Tiffany & Co, immortalised by the 1961 classic 'Breakfast at Tiffany's', carried out a survey of products being sold on eBay earlier this year. The firm randomly purchased goods marketed as 'Tiffany's' and found that 73% of them were counterfeit, according to the LA Times.
James Swire, lawyer for Tiffany's, told the Reuters news agency that the two companies had been discussing the problem for some time, but that last year eBay had "declined to themselves police their auction sites for counterfeit Tiffany merchandise and said we should use the programs they have to police the site."
Tiffany duly did so, forcing the closure of around 19,000 eBay auction sites, but sales of the allegedly fake goods continued.
"Since they are making the money from it, the public is being defrauded by it and Tiffany is being damaged by it, the question is who should bear the burden of policing it," Swire explained.
According to Reuters, the suit, filed on Friday, seeks an injunction to prevent eBay listing any fake 'Tiffany' product, and for the auction site to account for profits on the fake goods sold.