Adam, Hal, other attorneys, and everyone else - Quick Baseball Question Legal Related

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Posted By: Jon Canfield

Ok, I'll first mention that this post is not too vintage, but both baseball and eBay related! Today I received the following email from eBay.

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Dear Jonathan Canfield (jon_canfield@hotmail.com),

**PLEASE READ THIS IMPORTANT EMAIL REGARDING YOUR LISTING(S)**


We would like to let you know that we removed your listing:


5153088138 Reggie Jackson Signed Autographed Baseball OAL COA MINT



because the intellectual property rights owner notified us, under penalty of perjury, that your listing or the item itself infringes their copyright, trademark, or other rights.

We have credited any associated fees to your account. We have also notified the bidders that the listing(s) was removed, and that they are not obligated to complete the transaction.

If you relist this or any other similar items on eBay, your account likely will be suspended.

If you believe your listing was ended in error, or have questions regarding the removal of this listing, please contact the intellectual property rights owner directly at:

ReggieJackson.com, LLC
isla822693@aol.com

eBay is available to answer questions, but since it is the rights owner that requested the removal of your listing(s), we encourage you to contact them first.

For more information on eBay's cooperation with rights owners through the VeRO Program, and a list of rights owners that have created About Me pages, please visit:

http://pages.ebay.com/help/confidence/vero-removed-listing.html
http://pages.ebay.com/help/community/vero-aboutme.html

Thank you for your cooperation.

Regards,

Customer Support (Trust and Safety Department)
eBay Inc

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First of all, I feel this is totally ridiculous - what the !@#$ is eBay comming to?! Anyway, I am a 2nd year law student, but this baffled me. The auction, which was ended by eBay, clearly showed the ball and the certificate of authenticity from Sports Card Heaven who conducted a private signing with Reggie and then sold the baseballs signed to the public. I purchased one of these baseballs about 5 years ago, and that was the baseball I was auctioning. I hoping that one of you practicing attorneys could tell me what copyright/trademark law I infringed?

This ball was purchased directly from Sports Card Heaven and was signed directly by Mr. Jackson. The auction clearly displayed the original certificate that was given to customers when we purchased the ball from Sports Card Heaven. I am not aware of any trademark law that would not allow for resale of this item. Furthermore, when Mr. Jackson signed the ball that I purchased, I was not made to sign any paper work that voided my rights to resale, or that explained that I would not be allowed to resell my ball.

If someone could give me a quick reason, I'd love to hear it!