Know-How Exchange : Strategy

Although I'm not a lawyer in my opinion it all depends on what precisely you are going to copy.If this is only the idea of a platform helping specific target groups to buy and sell then I'd say it's not illegal.However if you copy the feel&look of Ebay, the customer touchpoint solutions they are using, customer ratings etc. then you will have a legal problem.
So in sum the idea can be copied to some extent but you have to shape your website in your own original way enhancing customer experience in a different way than ebay does.It is also in your interest, otherwise how come you will win customers?

Regards

Adam

I agree with Adam (again, I am no lawyer) Ebay do not own the rights to online auctions, as long as the coding is all yours, and no one who found your site would think that it was part of Ebay, you should be ok.

Sounds interesting.

Good Luck

You can’t copyright auctions, not even on-line ones, even if you were the first with the concept – and eBay weren’t, they were the first to be hugely successful. So as Andrew and Adam have said, that leaves the look and feel. If you want the site to be respectable in most western jurisdictions, you need to avoid being accused of “Passing Off” which is actionable if you host your website, have a trading address or even banking facilities in a country which will enforce eBay’s "Look and feel" aspects of copyright in a court of law.

Interestingly, there are many smaller, trade (B2B) only on-line auction sites already well established in the UK – they are used for selling stock – that’s forward auctions (highest bid wins) or to allow suppliers to bid for contracts – that’s a reverse auction (lowest bid wins). The net trade value is estimated at about £52Billion in Europe for 2005.

Have a look at:

https://www.is4profit.com/busadvice/online_auctions/

for some guidelines.

So, good luck with your venture – it seems to be in a growth market – at least over here.

Steve Alker
Unimax Solutions