In the two weeks since AuctionBytes broke the story about the potential lawsuit by eBay against AlternaBay, the gay community worldwide has spread the word, and support for the site continues to gain momentum. Registered users of AlternaBay have grown from 250 two weeks ago to over 700 as of today, according to Ronnie Rodriguez, owner of the site.

As first reported in AuctionBytes Newsflash on August 26 (http://www.auctionbytes.com/pages/abn/y02/m08/i26/s01), eBay has taken exception to the use of the site name AlternaBay for a San Francisco Bay area auction site catering to the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender communities. The dispute appears no closer to resolution.

While Rodriguez has yet to track the number of hits to the AlternaBay site ("I never thought I'd have the need to"), he speculates traffic has increased, based on the number of emails and phone calls he's received since the story broke.

In an email to AuctionBytes, attorney David Helbraun said Rodriguez intends to fight eBay. "The question is how far and how long AlternaBay can fight eBay, and Ronnie and AlternaBay don't know the answer to that question yet. eBay has financial resources that AlternaBay obviously cannot compete with. If AlternaBay gets enough support, it may be able to fight this to a fair conclusion."

Trademark law can be a confusing area, especially when applied to the Internet. Under the Lanham Act (Title 15 of the U.S. Code, enacted more than 50 years ago), eBay has the responsibility to vigorously defend itself against any perceived infringement on any trademarks it holds. Failure to do so could result in a weakened case in defending against trademark infringement at a future date.

One key component in any objection is intent to deceive; is there a deliberate attempt to fool people into believing they are getting the original product or service? According to Helbraun, "eBay is claiming that people are somehow likely to confuse eBay with Alternabay, because of the alleged similarity between the names and the logos. It's such a big stretch, though, that what they're really saying, in effect, is that they own the right to the word "bay." But all they own the right to is "eBay," not "bay." They are over-zealously policing their brand. They should be going after people who use "ebaysex.com" or"ebaytoys.com," something that poses a real threat of mistaken identity."

AlternaBay's lawyer also said eBay's claim against the site's logo is also another big stretch, since Alternabay uses colors different from eBay's logo, "mainly, the traditional lesbian/gay community lavendar and pink."

One of Rodriguez's friends is attempting to stage a benefit concert, tentatively named "Take Back the Bay," to help defray some of the legal costs. And some eBay users have taken it upon themselves to organize a boycott of eBay, although AlternaBay had no role in any such action.

AlternaBay will begin charging listing fees as of October 1st, but this had always been part of Rodriguez's plan. "I started the site on September 29, 2001, and thought I'd let it run a year and see what happened." He also said he was grateful for the support he's received since the story first became public.