It is illegal to import, manufacture, offer for sale, sell, advertise or distribute counterfeit or infringing BURBERRY products. These activities are in violation of the law and can carry both criminal and civil penalties. Additionally, this activity is expressly prohibited by eBay (see section 6.2 of eBay’s user agreement http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/user-agreement.html) and will result in your auctions and user account being cancelled. BACKGROUND INFORMATION Founded in Basingstoke, England in 1856 by Thomas Burberry, Burberry Limited (“Burberry”) has a unique heritage associated with Great Britain, positioned as the authentic British lifestyle brand. From our founding, we have established a reputation for innovation, quality and luxury and have grown to become an icon of enduring style. The “BURBERRY” product line includes, but is not limited to clothing, accessories, fragrances, handbags, wallets, sunglasses, watches, and pet accessories. These products can be found at any of our stores with locations worldwide or at a limited selection of authorized retailers. Burberry strictly regulates the design, manufacture, advertising, distribution and sale of its products. TRADEMARKS Burberry has continuously used in connection with its products a distinctive check trademark (the “BURBERRY CHECK”), the BURBERRY word mark and the EQUESTRIAN KNIGHT DEVICE, all of which are registered trademarks and exclusive property of BURBERRY. Anyone who uses any of our trademarks, or confusingly similar variations, without our written authorization, is infringing our trademarks and could face stiff criminal and/or civil penalties. The United States Patent and Trademark Office, in common with other Trade Mark Registries worldwide, has granted Burberry several trademark registrations for a variety of products, including clothing, accessories, scarves, handbags, travel bags, purses, wallets and umbrellas. Select trademark registrations owned by Burberry include:         The “BURBERRY” word mark, evidenced by U.S. Reg. No. 260,843 (issued August 27, 1929) and U.S. Reg. No. 510,077 (issued May 24, 1949), amongst others.         The BURBERRY CHECK trademark (a distinctive check design), evidenced by U.S. Reg. No. 1,241,222 (issued June 7, 1983) and U.S. Reg. No. 2,022,789 (issued December 17, 1996), amongst others.         The EQUESTRIAN KNIGHT DEVICE trademark (a distinctive horse and knight design), evidenced by U.S. Reg. No. 863,179 (issued January 7, 1969), amongst others. Please note that Burberry also enjoys significant common law (unregistered) rights worldwide in its BURBERRY CHECK trademark for a wide variety of colors and products (See 15 U.S.C. § 1125(a)) as well as in its BURBERRY word mark and EQUESTRIAN KNIGHT DEVICE. In order to ensure that your products are genuine you should purchase Burberry products from any of Burberry’s own retail stores or authorised stockists (i.e., authorized retailer), a list of which can be obtained by calling in the USA: (212) 707-6700 and in the UK: 07000 785 676, which are Burberry’s dedicated customer service departments. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS Q:    Why has my auction been removed? A: Burberry is committed to the strict enforcement of its trademarks and other intellectual property rights. We have requested the removal of your auction because Burberry has a good faith belief that the merchandise you were offering for sale is counterfeit or otherwise infringes our trademarks and thus is in violation of the law. Due to the nature of eBay and the Internet, this determination will be made based upon the photograph(s), title of the auction and the description of the goods that you have provided. If your auction was terminated upon our request, we are satisfied with our determination that this item is not authentic. Q:    Why was I allowed to post my auction if it violates the law? A: Unfortunately, eBay maintains that it cannot conduct a comprehensive pre-screening process to account for such violations. Therefore, the ability to post such auctions of infringing merchandise DOES NOT mean that the sale of such merchandise is legal, authorized or that it does not infringe our trademarks. Q:    Why was my auction removed while many other auctions offering “BURBERRY” items for sale remain up? A: Due to the nature of eBay, it is impossible to address every auction related to our brand. This, however, does not mean that because some auctions are not removed they are not also breaking the law. If you wish to send us auctions that you believe infringe our trademarks, we invite you to do so. Q:    Why was I not informed directly by Burberry before I was reported to eBay? A: Given the volume of auctions dealing with Burberry related products; it would be both impractical and inefficient for Burberry to contact each seller individually. For these reasons, eBay has established the VeRO program (http://pages.ebay.com/help/confidence/programs-vero-ov.html) to assist us in our brand protection efforts and take additional actions in accordance with its user policies. Q:    Can I use the word “BURBERRY” in an auction heading even if I am not selling a BURBERRY item? A: NO. Burberry maintains a registered trademark in its name, including its use for retail services, and this prohibits the use of our name in relation to goods that do not originate from Burberry. Therefore, it is both misleading and infringing to use the trademark “BURBERRY” in an auction title or description because such use may attract buyers who are searching for authentic Burberry goods. Additionally courts have held that this confusing practice of enticing buyers, referred to as “initial interest confusion”, is a form of trademark infringement, even though consumers may ultimately realize the goods offered for sale in an auction do not originate from Burberry. This practice is an attempt to exploit the goodwill associated with the BURBERRY name and will not be tolerated. Q:    I believe that the item I am offering for sale is authentic Burberry merchandise, how can I tell? A: Burberry is not willing to disclose the specifications of genuine Burberry merchandise so as to prevent this information from reaching manufacturers of counterfeit merchandise. We can assure you, however, that all authentic Burberry products are made using superior materials, quality and workmanship. The ONLY way to ensure that you have purchased an authentic Burberry product is to purchase it directly from a Burberry store or one of our authorized retailers. Q:    Why is Burberry concerned with my sale of a single piece of unauthorized Burberry product? A: Burberry takes all matters of infringement seriously regardless of the quantity of items listed for sale. We cannot grant exceptions to anyone simply because the infringement concerns only one or two items. Q:    Can I post an auction that expressly states that the Item is “NOT GENUINE BURBERRY”? Or refer to it as “BURBERRY-STYLE”, “BURBERRY INSPIRED” or any similar phrase? A: NO. A disclaimer regarding the lack of authenticity of the goods, such as “fake”, “faux”, “BURBERRY-Style”, “BURBERRY-like”, etc., is illegal under laws which prohibit the sale of counterfeit/infringing merchandise. These products are still in violation of our trademark rights and Burberry will enforce these rights with the same force as those which claim to be authentic. Q:    I would like to have an item I purchased from eBay verified for authenticity by Burberry, can I bring this item to a Burberry store for verification? May I list my item as authenticated by Burberry? A: NO. Because Burberry performs its authenticity determinations with great care and attention, it is not feasible to offer this service to the general public. In addition, though our sales people are professionals who are very knowledgeable about our product line, they are not able to make authenticity determinations. The only way to be assured that you have purchased an authentic Burberry product is to purchase it directly from one of our Burberry stores or an authorized retail store; otherwise authenticity cannot be guaranteed or verified by Burberry. Q:    What if I was unaware that the merchandise I was selling was not authentic BURBERRY merchandise? A: Ignorance of the law or innocent intent is not a defense to trademark violations. The law maintains that it is YOUR responsibility to ensure that your activities do not in any way violate the intellectual property rights of others; otherwise you will subject yourself to liability which cannot be avoided by claiming ignorance. Q:    Why was my auction removed when I have not made any reference to “BURBERRY” in my title or description? A: In this case, you have most likely offered for sale an item that displays an identical or confusingly similar version of our BURBERRY CHECK trademark. Any item, which is not authentic Burberry merchandise, that incorporates a check that is either identical or confusingly similar to the BURBERRY CHECK trademark, violates the rights afforded to Burberry under this trademark. Q:    Why was my auction for the sale of fabric removed? A: If you made no reference to “BURBERRY” in your auction, yet your fabric auction was removed, it may be because the fabric incorporates our BURBERRY CHECK trademark and is therefore infringing. BURBERRY stores and authorized retailers do not sell fabric and so your fabric is likely to be counterfeit. Q:    I believe that the item Burberry reported is authentic Burberry merchandise. How can I get my auction reinstated? A: If you believe that your auction was erroneously reported to eBay, please send an email to the Burberry contact person that eBay has provided you. In your email, you must include the following: (1) the auction number, (2) the exact title used in the auction, (3) the exact description used in the auction, (4) your eBay seller ID, and (5) attach the pictures of the item that were posted in the removed auction. If Burberry agrees that it erroneously reported your auction, we will send an email to eBay, with a request to reinstate the auction. However, please note that reinstatement is entirely at eBay’s discretion. CONTACT INFORMATION: If you require additional information not addressed above please email us at:         In the U.K.: georgina.jackson@burberryusa.com         In the U.S.: fsilva@burberryusa.com Please be patient in awaiting a response. We aim to respond within 2 weeks. You can also visit our official website at www.burberry.com BURBERRY IS COMMITTED TO THE ENFORCEMENT OF ITS INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS Burberry works diligently with lawyers, investigators and law enforcement officials to prohibit any counterfeiting or infringement of its trademarks. Burberry utilizes all criminal and civil legal remedies it may have in order to enforce its intellectual property rights. Favorite Links Burberry Limited's website http://www.burberry.com International Anti-Counterfeiting Coalition http://www.iacc.org/