NEW YORK — According to the chatter on online intellectual property communities and blogs, eBay could be rolling out a new initiative to help fight counterfeit goods on its auction site. Reports said eBay notified some sellers by phone in late November that they would have to adapt to new safeguards the company was putting in place. Few details were available about the scope or specifics of the reported initiative. The safeguards of the new program will apply to merchandise found on an unreleased list of goods considered “susceptible to counterfeiting.” The safeguards are said to require PayPal verification for sellers, and a ban of one-day and three-day auctions of items on the list, among other things. A restriction on cross-border trade also is said to be part of the initiative. EBay could not be reached for comment, and there was no official statement released by the company.
Richard Reinis will join the Century City, Los Angeles, office of Steptoe & Johnson LLP, an international law firm. Prior to joining Steptoe, Reinis was chief executive officer of Great Circle Family Foods, a Krispy Kreme franchisee for Southern California. Reinis spent the bulk of his career working for apparel and fashion-industry clients as managing partner of Reinis & Reinis in Los Angeles. He was also general counsel of Smart Modes of California, a women’s clothing company, and California Mart, a building in Los Angeles that serves apparel manufacturers. “By virtue of my association with Steptoe, I will be able to offer a broad array of services to clients in the apparel industry and real estate business,” Reinis said in a statement. He also has previously served on the board of California Fashion Associates, among numerous other organizations.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit overturned a Los Angeles federal court decision in a patent dispute between Classified Cosmetics and Del Laboratories, according to statements from Classified Cosmetics. The overturned decision previously ruled that a patent held by Classified was inoperable. The case has been remanded to the district court for Central California in Los Angeles for further proceedings. According to court documents, Classified filed an injunction against Del Laboratories in 2003 for an alleged violation of a patent it had for spray-on foundation. The original case alleged that Del Laboratories’ Sally Hansen Fast and Flawless Airbrush makeup and Sally Hansen Airbrush Legs products infringed on technology patented by Classified for its Era Face line. Del Laboratories disputed the original claims and moved for summary judgment declaring Classified’s patent inoperable and therefore invalid. In the opinion overturning the federal court’s decision, the Court of Appeals said Del Laboratories hadn’t met the burden of proof to show that it was entitled to a summary judgment. Del Laboratories could not be reached for comment by press time.