eBay vs Craigslist: Craig Strikes Back

Craigslist has filed a complaint in the Superior Court in San Francisco today, charging eBay with unlawful and unfair competition, misappropriation of proprietary information, deceptive passing-off, business interference, false advertising, phishing attacks, free-riding, trademark infringement, trademark dilution, and breaches of fiduciary duty. The complaint follows eBay suing Craigslist April 30 with allegations that Craigslist had unfairly diluted eBay’s shareholding.

According to a post on the Craigslist blog (and buried in the document above), Craigslist is asking the court to enjoin this conduct and order eBay to (1) make full restitution to craigslist, (2) disgorge their related profits (3) restore to craigslist all shares of the company acquired by means of, or for the purpose of unfair competition, and (4) pay punitive damages for their malicious behavior.

If you’ve got the time, the document makes for interesting reading. If it reaches court, covering this is going to be fun.