Small Gay Auction Site Irks Giant eBay
As appeared in The Advocate
AlternaBay, a small online auction site that caters to gays, found itself in a battle with Internet giant eBay who alleges the company has infringed on its trademarks.
AlternaBay promises to fight any eBay action, but founder Ronnie Rodriguez fears his rival might force his doors closed. “This really comes down to AlternaBay’s survival. We can’t afford to defend ourselves for long.”
eBay views the matter as an infringement of their trademarks. “The use of the word ‘bay’ immediately conjures up an image of eBay,” says eBay spokesman Kevin Pursglove. The company is asking the site to stop using the AlternaBay name, Internet address and similar eBay Web design.
“No one can own the word ‘bay’,” counters Rodriquez. “I plan to fight for as long as it takes to prove that.”
eBay says that if AlternaBay doesn’t agree, it will litigate. And if the past is any predictor, AlternaBay might worry. Several other Web sites have lost efforts to use Internet names that are similar to eBay.
