SAN JOSE, Calif. - A company whose name sounds like eBay Inc.'s has lost its appeal of a court ruling that protected the online auctioneer from "trademark dilution" by e-commerce rivals with similar-sounding names.
A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously upheld a lower court's ruling in September 2005 against Perfumebay.com and Perfume-bay.com.
EBay had argued that the names confused customers, who might think they were on an official eBay site.
Circuit Judge Johnnie B. Rawlinson wrote that Perfume Bay's conjoined name in a Web address was "nearly identical" to eBay's and could prompt customers to "disassociate the eBay mark with eBay's services."
The sites must get a new name, according to the appellate panel's decision Monday.
EBay has for years has waged legal fights against Web sites with all sorts of names that end with "bay." It has closed down AutoBay, RentBay and other sites.
San Jose-based eBay, one of world's largest e-commerce companies, argued that Perfumebay.com was particularly confusing because it contains the exact spelling "ebay."
EBay spokesman Hani Durzy said Tuesday company attorneys were thrilled with the ruling.
"It's an important decision -- not just for us and our trademark but for Internet users everywhere who may have been confused if they were on eBay or not," he said.
Jacquelyn Tran, CEO of Huntington Beach-based Perfume Bay, wrote in an e-mail she would appeal and ask for an emergency stay of the injunction to keep operating Perfumebay.com.
"We are a small, entrepreneurial company taking on eBay, a multibillion dollar giant," she wrote. "Too often, Goliaths are victorious in these types of battles. We are fighting for small business everywhere, for our more than 300,000 customers around the world, and for the American Dream."
Tran, who also owns ScentGuru.com and BeautifulPerfumes.com, asserted in court documents that her company's name wasn't a knockoff of eBay but was meant to recall "a bay filled with ships importing perfumes from all parts of the world."
