Phantom Lady #17 in the public domain and EBay policies....

[bminor]

I downloaded PL 17 from DCM a couple of years ago, digitally edited it, fixing all the bad registration, etc.
I have made a few copies and sold them on Ebay.
Today I get a message from Ebay saying that I am in "Trademark Violation"
What do you guys think?
Here is the message from my Ebay account:

After reviewing your eBay account, we've taken the following action:
- Listings have been removed. A list of items that were removed can be viewed at the bottom of this message.
- We have credited all associated fees except for the final value fee for your listing(s).    
The listing that was removed appeared to violate eBay policy. Please remember that you are responsible for the quality and authenticity of the products that you offer on eBay. It is against eBay policy to list any counterfeit items.

For more information please see our Replica, counterfeit items, and unauthorized copies policy:
http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/replica-counterfeit.html

If you have more questions, contact our policy experts:
http://ocsnext.ebay.com/ocs/cusr?query=3049&=PTB1210



Please be sure your current and future listings follow these guidelines, keeping in mind that additional violations could result in the suspension of your account.

Here are the listings that were removed:
321741473813 - Phantom Lady #17 - Golden Age Exact Replica Classic Cover GGA-Bondage CGC it 9.9

[movielover]

I might be wrong about this, but I'll take a stab. The original book is in the PD, but the character is trademarked to DC and your fixing it like that and selling might be what drew someone. This sounds somewhat like another case I heard off, although slightly different parameters.

Again, I'm no expert, so this is just a guess.

[John C]

Since they apparently can't be bothered to tell you what or whose trademark you've violated and without knowing anything about eBay's intellectual property policies, it could be anything from a claim hinting at some upcoming project from a company like DC or Dynamite to someone filing fraudulent claims because they know it's hard to fight when you're not told what to fight.

Copyright is cut and dried.  Trademark is "nuh-uh, people associate that name with my company, and I'll lose it unless I make a stink," unless it's registered.

Which I guess is a really long way around "no clue, you're going to have to press them for more information."  I know a lot of people recycle that cover, and any of them might consider it their (common law) trademark.

[bminor]

Well, I contacted Ebay, the most that they could tell me was that someone had turned me in for this violation!
I pointed out others were others selling the same item, most notably the Roy Thomas reprint book from a couple of years ago. Which I pointed out to him were currently available, new, on Ebay!
I really got pretty much no answer. Just refer to their policies online concerning this matter.
Kind of frustrating!!!

B.

[bminor]

Alas,
I will most likely never have an answer.
B.

[bchat]

eBay's policy used to be that only the trademark or copyright holder was able to file a complaint with eBay.  Unfortunately, that policy has changed so that any third party can file a complaint based on no evidence at all.

DC Comics has a registered trademark for "Phantom Lady", so it seems safe to assume that DC filed a complaint regarding your reprints.  I think if you pushed hard enough, eBay would give-up some more information about what happened to your listing.

Since the book itself is public domain, DC can't stop you from reprinting it, but you're going to have to find away around the trademark issue.  The best idea I can suggest is an additional outer cover, to draw attention away from the "Phantom Lady" title, as well as to identify the book as being a reprint.