Another seller is threatening me with copyright infringement. Could do with some advice?

[jenpetjen]

I used what I thought was a catalogue image of a Cushion Cover I am selling in my listing. Another seller contacted me saying that the image was theirs and I need to take it down. Even though they had no proof of ownership of the image I removed it from my listing in good faith immediately.

This seller then used another eBay account to purchase my least expensive item of $3 and paid via PayPal to obtain my personal hotmail address which is linked to PayPal. I have since been receiving threatening emails calling me a thief and an unethical and deceitful seller/person. I explained that I thought the image had come from the designer of the fabric used in the cushion cover who allows use of his images to sell products using his material. But the seller is saying I deliberately stole from her and I need to refund all my customers their purchases, remove the cushion covers from sale, and pay her $2500 in lost sales. She doesn't actually sell this particular cover on eBay but on her business website which I might add that she has a link to in the listings she does have on eBay.

I blocked her email address on my hotmail account and sent her a message via the eBay messaging system asking her to correspond with me via this method so a third party has potential access to our messages. I did this in a hope to keep the tone more civilised and she replied that she has asked my to stop contacting her (as if I'm the one who has been doing the harrassing) and that she is persuing legal advice and is lodging a claim with the Queensland Administrative and Civil Tribunal.

I obviously should have investigated the origin of the image more thoroughly but generic catalogue images are used all the time to sell new items on ebay.

Does this seller have a case against me? Can she really ask me to refund my customers, remove my listing from sale and pay her compensation?

Any insights would be appreciated.

[*sparklz*]

Do not worry about it.

It is nothing but threats and scare tactics as they feel threatened.

If the photo is for anyone to use then you have every right to use it.

Block her ID from being able to contact you and if other threats come via ebay messages call ebay as they can see all the ID's that member has.

But do not expect ebay to do much either.

[imastawka]

Bullying tactics IMO

Take your own photos of the cushion covers if it makes you feel better.

Someone else may have more insight into this.

[harley_babes_hoard]

I would ignore her, sounds like a lunatic. Let her proceed with whatever case she thinks she has, she will have a hard time proving loss of revenue. Just take your own photos from now on and watermark them so no one else can use them.

I would also run her details through the business registration website and see if you can get her name address etc. do an ABN check if she has those details on her website.

http://abr.business.gov.au/

[clarry100]

Anyone who makes noise like that will invariably be full of gas and hot air IMO.

If they are for real any good lawyer will advise them not to do that as if it goes into a court of law a judge will take a dim view of those kind of wild tactics. It is making OTT threats and accusations that are most unlikely to be upheld by a court.

So if they are doing it the right way the first contact you should get is a formal letter from their lawyer.

In future I would recommend you do as we do. Only used photos you have taken yourself.

And even watermark them to protect yourself from this same kind of thing.

We reported another seller to ebay for using one of our pics about 12-months ago.

That listing and pic is still there to this day so ebay have done nothing about it.

To have it removed would take legal action that we would have to fund. Just not worth it.

We sell far more of that same item than they do anyway. So we don't lose any sleep over it now.

[phorum_junkie*]

Every email you receive from them direct to your email account click the spam button without even opening it. Eventualy your email account will recognise anything from them as spam and will autonatically direct it there without it littering your in box.

If they have a link to or even mention their web site in their ebay listings you can report them for that.

If the catalogue photos are indeed allowed to be used by anyone then contact them to get it in writing that they own the copyright and you are using the mages with their consent if it will make you feel better.

[digupatin]

I agree, the seller is full of it.

My suggestion, contact the seller and let them know that .............

1) You are legally allowed to apply for an Apprehended Personal Violence Order against the seller.

Under the crimes act stalking,  harassment, and intimidation are illegal.

2) You are entitled to report the seller to ACMA if they are spamming your inbox.

Disclaimer: I have no legal training and the above is a personal opinion only.

[digital*ghost]

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@jenpetjen wrote:

 Can she really ask me to refund my customers No, remove my listing from sale Very unlikely,  and pay her compensation? Possibly

---

Forced refunds to customers is just smoke in the wind - if by some chance she could get you to refund buyers, then she'd have no real basis for seeking compensation, because that would largely be based on what she'd (potentially) lost, which is then gauged (in part) by your sales etc (there are other factors when things like that are worked out, but based on the info provided, I'd say it's probably ultimately irrelevant, unless the seller does own the design, which leads to my second point....). 

They would need a design patent or some other form of exclusive rights to have any control over who can and can't produce and/or sell an item. If they are serious, and are telling the truth, they could produce documentation to prove their claim to any of that.

Re: compensation, I only say it's possible if she does own the copyright to the images - she might, she might not, but using someone else's images for commercial purposes without license or permission can result in ultimately having to pay money... but for my money, if what she's claiming and demanding is exactly as relayed here, I would have to agree with the above sentiments - even if she does own the images, can't help but say the reaction has been a bit melodramatic, not to mention her other behaviour doesn't exactly give much confidence in their ethics. 

[jenpetjen]

Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to response to my posting! My initial feeling was that she didn't have a case but I did find the situation a little distressing. I did say to her that I would not be refunding my customers nor taking the listing down. Will just ignore her from now on!

[bobbiegower]

Since this person is so big on receiving legal advice, it might be in their best interests to ask their lawyer about the Commonwealth offence of using a carriage service to menace, harrass or cause offence which carries with it a potential penalty of 3 years imprisonment....