Just a friendly heads up. I recently had a listing for a customized zippo lighter pulled down for trademark violations. I did not think it was legitimate since I clearly labeled the zippo and customized and the base lighter was a factory produced zippo. but the email address provided for the person who had the listing removed never responded and the people at ebay were no help at all telling me i had to talk to the person who had the listing removed. I did a bit of research and found Zippo manufacturing co.’s policy on sales of their products on auction sites like Ebay. Making any cosmetic alteration to the lighter is a violation of Zippo’s trademark and they retain the rights to pull your listing.
Zippo Manufacturing Company (ZMC) regularly polices internet auction sites concerning the sales of its products and has the legal authority to halt certain sales of products within the United States and several other countries under the following three circumstances:
“Sales of counterfeit products; or the sale of products not originating from ZMC under the name "ZIPPO" or another of the trademarks held by ZMC, or the use of a name or a trademark that is confusing similar to Zippo;
Sales of lighters from third-party manufacturers that have registered the shape of the Zippo Windproof lighter; or, Sales of Zippo lighters that have been decorated without the written consent of ZMC”
“Unauthorized alteration, decoration, engraving of Zippo lighters and sales of Zippo lighters that have been engraved, decorated, or otherwise altered without ZMC's consent, infringe its trademark rights. Specifically, the alteration, decoration, engraving, and sale of Zippo lighters, using images and designs that have not been authorized by ZMC, directly infringes Zippo's trademark rights. Furthermore, the use of the ZIPPO name and of the famous registered Zippo lighter shape in auction website listings, including those that these offered products are authorized, approved, in some other way associated with ZMC. They are not. The unauthorized alteration ot decoration of a Zippo windproof lighter has rendered it to be not longer genuine.”
So if you are selling a zippo lighter that has custom decoration or engraving be careful in how you label the listing because Zippo can and will remove the listing for violating their trademark.
