Huntington Beach’s Perfume Bay Inc. has lost its appeal on a trademark infringement case brought on by eBay Inc.
Perfume Bay, an online seller of perfume, makeup and bath and body products, will have to change its Web site addresses Perfumebay.com and Perfume-bay.com because they infringe on eBay’s name, the Associated Press reported on Wednesday.
EBay sued Perfume Bay in 2004, alleging that Perfume Bay’s Web sites were confusing to eBay customers, who were led to think Perfume Bay was an official eBay site.
The case went to trial in 2005. The courts found Perfume Bay clear on eight out of the nine counts. The ninth count alleged that Perfume Bay couldn’t put the word “bay” next to the word “perfume” in its Web site address.
Perfume Bay appealed the decision.
Earlier this week, a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the lower court ruling in 2005.
Circuit Judge Johnnie B. Rawlinson wrote that Perfume Bay’s conjoined name in a Web address was “nearly identical” to eBay’s, which could make customers “disassociate the eBay mark with eBay’s services,” according to the article.
Jacquelyn Tran, Perfume Bay’s chief executive, told the Associated Press that she would appeal the decision and ask for an emergency stay of the injunction to continue operating Perfumebay.com.
In an earlier interview with the Business Journal, Tran said that Perfume Bay would have to focus on rebranding itself if it lost the appeal.
Regardless of the outcome, she said that Perfume Bay would continue doing business.
“We’re not going anywhere. I’ve worked too hard to get where I’m at,” Tran said.
Tran started Perfume Bay in 1999 with the help of her family, Vietnamese refugees who came to America in 1980. The company generates close to $18.5 million in yearly sales and employs 25 OC workers.
Tran also owns ScentGuru.com and BeautifulPerfumes.com.
