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David Versus Goliath, the E-Bay Way

Filed Under: Business Musings

In a case reminiscent of the Coty J-Lo Glow versus GLOW back in 2002 – 2003, there’s another David and Goliath match up in the scent world. If you’re not familiar with the GLOW case, click here to read a great article by Inc. magazine about that lawsuit. Jennifer Lopez and Coty settled out of court in this case. Click here to read that short press release.

The short story for the new David and Goliath suit is: E-Bay decided in 2001 that PerfumeBay was too close a name for their liking. E-Bay believes that the word “Bay” is so closely identified with E-Bay that anyone using the term “Bay” in their name is descriptively misleading to potential consumers. So, E-Bay sued Jackie Tran and her small company.

Jackie fought back. And, she won on almost every count. But this is America where the end of a court case never seems to be the actual end. The court asked Jackie to change her name to perfume (space) bay.com. Worried about losing her rankings in search engines and the 300,000 customers she currently has, Jackie chose to take her case on to the Appellate Court in the hopes of keeping her original URL.

Her full story can be found on her blog MakesNoScents.com.Check it out when you have a few moments to spare. Then, think about growth plans for your business. If you’re thinking about growing big, big, big, consider investing in a $500 Trademark Review with your local Intellectual Property Attorney. It might save you heartache and headache when you do get that first million dollar nationwide distribution agreement.

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2 Comments

  1. You’re right, in the case of GLOW, the little indie entrepreneur was compensated but it sure looked, initially, that she was going to get her small business ruined without compensation. It was an well written story, typical for Inc.’s in-depth research articles.

  2. Wow, I read all the links, but the best was the first. Seriously, it felt as if I was reading a novel. It is unfortunate what Ms. Williamson had to deal with, but it appears that she was compensated appropriately.

    The one that probably was kicking himself was the dermatologist that “only” received $40k for his Glow Kit trademark. Imagine–he could have made millions if he would have only known.

    Thanks for your posting!!!

    Steph