Clarification on what is copyright infringement? and what can't we sell on ebay Australia.

[god-of-deals]

I had an electric guitar listed, which is a replica of an orginal guitar. The brand is Ibanez.

The guitar includes the original logo which was visible on the photo, and I mentioned the brand name in my listing etc, and when I listed the item I made no secret that this was a replica so no buyer could be deceived.

I have been informed by ebay today that I have breached copyright infringement. 

Now I am assuming that this is because I have mentioned the brand name in my listing (even though I specify that it is a replica) and the photos utilise the Ibanez logo..?

For argument sake, if I did not mention the brand name or show any photo which displays the logo would this be ok to sell as per policy?

Cheers for your help

[digital*ghost]

I just thought I should add, the reason I advised using the word 'reproduction' was on the off-chance you had some sort of licensed product.

For example, BB King's iconic guitar Lucille - there is only one Lucille, but there are some officially licensed replicas of Lucille that people can buy.

That's not the case here, so reproduction is out. 😉

[phorum_junkie*]

If it has a logo on it and is not a licensed reproduction then not only is it against ebay's rules to list it it is actually illegal to even own it never mind sell it.

If you did manage to sell it without refering to the brand in any way and the buyer found the logo when they received it they coulld very well report you to the license holder and get you in serious trouble.

[lane-ends]

Regardless of copyright and whether it is a fake or not. If you mention brand ABC when it has nothing to do with brand ABC its word spamming and hence against the rules. The reason is that search results for for ABC will pick this up. Sellers often use this trick of saying "not ABC", and so it appears when browsers search for ABC. Which buries genuine ABC down beneath non ABC returns

[god-of-deals]

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@lane-ends wrote:

Regardless of copyright and whether it is a fake or not. If you mention brand ABC when it has nothing to do with brand ABC its word spamming and hence against the rules. The reason is that search results for for ABC will pick this up. Sellers often use this trick of saying "not ABC", and so it appears when browsers search for ABC. Which buries genuine ABC down beneath non ABC returns

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Thank you, is this acceptable?

HYPOTHETICAL EXAMPLE - could I list a generic smart phone and in the title say "not Apple iphone" would that be allowed?

I just don't want to get into trouble with ebay

[davewil1964]

No

[k1ooo-slr-sales]

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@god-of-deals wrote:

Thank you, is this acceptable?

HYPOTHETICAL EXAMPLE - could I list a generic smart phone and in the title say "not Apple iphone" would that be allowed?

I just don't want to get into trouble with ebay

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there are a number of ways that a listing comes to the attention of eBay.  One way is when the listing is reported by a member that views the listing and decides to report it

Another, is by using certain words in listing titles, words that get picked up by eBay automatically.  One of these is the word "not" . . . . . use that in a title and you are sure to come to the attention of eBay and get a listing violation for search manipulation.

If you listed an item with a title that included the words in your example "not Apple iphone", your listing would show up on member searches for "Apple", "iphone" and "Apple iphone".  Because your listing is not for an Apple iphone it would be considered as keyword spamming.

I suggest you click the following link and read some more before listing http://pages.ebay.com.au/help/policies/search-manipulation.html

[cq_tech]

Simply put, you should only ever list an item as what it is, not what it isn't.