Online auctioneer eBay today hailed a judge's ruling over fake Tiffany jewellery as a "victory for consumer choice''.

But eBay also criticised the jewellery firm for bringing the American lawsuit instead of working with the web company to fight the problem of counterfeit goods. A judge in New York ruled that companies such as Tiffany were responsible for policing their trademarks online, not auction platforms like eBay. Tiffany had sued eBay over the sale of counterfeit jewellery on eBay's sites.

Judge Richard Sullivan ruled that eBay cannot be held liable for trademark infringement based solely on their generalised knowledge that trademark infringement might be occurring on their web sites''. His ruling came in response to a suit filed in 2004, in which the jeweller alleged that most items listed on eBay as genuine Tiffany products were fakes. The company said it had asked eBay to remove counterfeit listings, but the sales continued.

In a statement after the ruling, eBay said: "The ruling confirms that eBay acted reasonably and has appropriate procedures in place to effectively address counterfeiting. It also establishes that protecting brands and trademarks is the primary responsibility of rights owners. While today's decision is a victory for consumer choice, it is a shame that so much effort has been wasted when Tiffany could have worked with eBay to more effectively fight counterfeits. eBay will continue to lead the industry with innovative solutions to stop the sale of counterfeits.'' An eBay spokeswoman added that the company invests £10m a year on keeping the site free of counterfeit goods and employs 2,000 people whose full-time job is to keep the site safe and secure, which includes ensuring it is free of fake items. Last year, eBay removed 2.2 million potentially counterfeit goods from the site and suspended 50,000 sellers.

Intellectual property expert Thayne Forbes, joint managing director at IP valuation consultancy Intangible Business, said he hoped Tiffany would appeal the ruling. "This ruling is a blow to brand owners in the US trying to clamp down on the damage caused by counterfeiting,'' he said.

"Essentially, it means that eBay can now take a passive role, reacting only to specific complaints from brand owners, which will be much more costly and less effective, compared with eBay taking an active role.''

The Tiffany ruling came after eBay lost a different case last month related to counterfeit luxury goods. A French court ordered eBay to pay more than £30 million to LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA, which complained its business was harmed by the sale of knockoff bags, perfume and clothes. eBay is appealing that ruling.