Is it illegal to sell a Panerai homage on the bay?

[bronica]

Don't flame me if this was an obvious answer, still new here. Obviously i know replicas are illegal, but afaik homages are not (unless they are?). I have recently attained a 40mm Automatic Marina Militaire homage, it doesnt have the words Panerai on it anywhere but looks exactly like the PAM048 only with the words Automatic on the dial.

I havent had luck trying to unload it on the rep sites, so i was wondering if i could do it on the bay just to get rid of it cheaply. I have done searches for it and people do sell it and do bid on it. However, my one is equipped with an asian automatic movement, not sure what the model is. If i state it on the item description that it is an automatic movement but do not know what the model is, am i still protected?

Obviously i will state all the technical aspects of the watch and features. I will also put a disclaimer that it is not a genuine Panerai watch but a homage.

Cheers for the advice.

 

[Senormankypants]

As long as the word Panerai doesn't appear anywhere in the description then you should be OK. If you sell as a Buy it now then potential buyers will see it for what it is.

 

[bronica]

Not even to say it is a Panerai homage and that it is not a genuine Panerai? Because won't that save me if they do file a dispute saying it isn't authentic but it was clearly in the description?

And what do you mean they will see it for what it is if i do it as a BIN?

 

[trailboss99]

Nope, DO NOT use the words Panerai or Luminor Marina at all, simply say "homage". I know people who have got letters for simply advertising "caseback dies, fit Panerai".

If you use BIN there will be a price that will be much lower than one could expect a gen Pam to sell for.

 

[bronica]

Hmm okay, it's not a Luminor. The only words on it are Marina Militaire and Automatic, these would be okay to put in the description yeah?

Sounds pretty strict, just dont know how all these other people are getting away with it. I found plenty of eBay sellers with high ratings that sell only homages.

 

[etto09]

I won't do it because the Crownguard alone is also trademarked.


Sent from an ?

 

[tommy_boy]

I'd expect that if a buyer values the features that make it resmble a PAM 048, they know what they need to know and will buy it without you mentioning it in your listing.

Few people outside the watch hobby have ever heard of Panerai.

I have seen discussions on the gen forums that would have us believe that "Marina Militare" is protected, too.

 

[trailboss99]

I have seen discussions on the gen forums that would have us believe that "Marina Militare" is protected, too.
__________________

It is indeed.

 

[bronica]

I see, so you're telling me it is illegal to sell my MM watch then?

 

[madison7897]

I dont mean to drop in on a conversation uninvited but (Marina Militare) is the navy of the Italian Republic. It is one of the four branches of Italian Armed Forces and was formed in 1946 from what remained of the Regia Marina (Royal Navy) after World War 2.

 

[bronica]

I dont mean to drop in on a conversation uninvited but (Marina Militare) is the navy of the Italian Republic. It is one of the four branches of Italian Armed Forces and was formed in 1946 from what remained of the Regia Marina (Royal Navy) after World War 2.

All good, but what significance does it have? Am i not allowed to sell a product of the MM?

 

[co-axial]

http://www.trademarkia.com/marina-militare-79011293.html

 

[trailboss99]

We know mad but for watch related stuff Panerai own the words. In case you have never noticed copyright law sucks the big one.

 

[bronica]

So effectively, it's illegal for me to sell it on ebay? that sucks.. i'll keep trying to sell it on the rep forums then.

unless.. i change out the dial and caseback to a sterile one? i can do it that way right?

 

[AskMeAgain]

Parnis sells the homage under that name

http://www.ebay.com/itm/PARNIS-MARI...sWatches_GL&hash=item43b34de11c#ht_714wt_1074

 

[bronica]

Parnis sells the homage under that name

http://www.ebay.com/itm/PARNIS-MARI...sWatches_GL&hash=item43b34de11c#ht_714wt_1074

Yeah, but they might've gotten a license for that.. =/

 

[Rogerthat]

Not illegal to sell in my opinion but u can't use certain words
Call it a Italian Navy Homage Watch or something
Your issue is not many will see the listing because you can't use keywords they would search for
That is why eBay takes issue
They don't want people searching panerai to find your watch and agree with then on that otherwise their site becomes cluttered

 

[bronica]

Not illegal to sell in my opinion but u can't use certain words
Call it a Italian Navy Homage Watch or something
Your issue is not many will see the listing because you can't use keywords they would search for
That is why eBay takes issue
They don't want people searching panerai to find your watch and agree with then on that otherwise their site becomes cluttered

That's a fair statement, i'll take your advice and will probably do that. It's still a chance to sell the watch and i get a few free listings a month anyway.

 

[Wacker23]

Just sell it here. No hassel.

 

[Rogerthat]

A little off topic but:
I recall back in the earlier days of eBay I would search for say:
"Denon" looking for an AV receiver and get 10,000 hits, most of which were not Denon Receivers but anyone selling home stereo equiptment was listing in their title and/or description:
Denon, Onxyo, Pioneer, Sony and 20 other brands regardless of what brand they were actually selling.

Same with purses, generic purses or Macy's type brands were using all of the high end brands in their description to get hits.

The sellers were just trying to get their item seen by as many potential buyers as possible.
it was a real mess so Ebay cleaned that up and cracked down on using any terms that do not accurately descibe the item and brand names must be that brand's genuine product.