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IP SUMMIT 2010


KRAWCZYK: eBAY


What is your role at the company?


I head the government relations team throughout Europe. Tat involves a team here in Brussels, doing the EU institution outreach, and government relations specialists in London, Paris and Berlin. Our work involves representing eBay’s interests on a whole range of issues, including on the e-commerce legislation, but also, obviously, any of the IPR issues.


Do eBay's relationships with governments vary across Europe? Is there a difference in your relationships in France and Brussels, for example?


Tat’s correct. I would go as far as to say that our relations with governments across the board are generally excellent. Now, of course, there is a huge variety of issues on the table. So you don’t deal with one same department, ministry or directorate general all the time. Generally speaking, eBay is a product that really appeals to people. Almost everybody knows about it.


A challenge in this area, I would say, would be in France. My clear impression is that we are still facing some aſtershocks of years of negative


press and media attention in France, of court cases that have been blown out of proportion, and a constant focus on the negative news. Tis stigmatised the company early on—I mean three, four or five years ago. Tat sticks with people, even though the situation has now completely changed. A lot of this was based on facts that are now out of date. We’ve moved on, and eBay is a different marketplace.


Why France in particular?


I think there’s always a natural tendency to hit on the big foreign players, and not just in France. But in France, it was different because of the litigation that everybody is aware of. eBay is new and a bit disruptive, because we come with a new business model. Some people may even fear that their own, well-protected business models are under threat because of eBay.


What are you doing to address the concerns?


For us, it’s very simple. Our bottom line is as follows: we very, very strongly oppose counterfeiting. We have no interest whatsoever in counterfeiting on our site. It’s very bad for us, firstly because it puts our own reputation


STEFAN


44 World Intellectual Property Review November/December 2010


www.worldipreview.com


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