Energy Drink manufacturer Red Bull have forced UK auction site TazBar to ban all products bearing the logo or name of the company.

Not in the news for a while in the BuildaSkill blog, I found a recent post on TazBar’s news board that states -

We have recently been in communication with the legal representatives of Red Bull. They have requested that Red Bull merchandise manufactured or offered for sale outside of the EEC be removed and made illegal from sale on the website. This creates a problem in the clarification of the source of the product so therefore in the interest of Tazbar, its members and Red Bull we have decided to ban the sale of all products bearing the Red Bull logo.

It is unfortunate that in some circumstances legitimate products both used and unused may fall foul of this ruling and we apologise for this. If you come across any listing that shows the Red Bull please report the item using the “Report Illegal Item” button found on the listing page.

This move bodes ill for other sites as it sets a precedent for manufacturers enforcing geographic and other restrictions of their trademarks and products, whether those products are new or used.  In the USA there is legislation against this sort of action relating to used products, but not against new stock.

In particular, the popular tourist habit of stocking up on Red Bull memorabilia whilst in South East Asia on holiday, then returning home to sell it online, is in jeopardy and will be a minor blow to exports, but a noticeable one to the small souvenir businesses at popular destinations.

More worrying is whether this will roll across multiple venues, including the likes of eBay (and I’d expect the zealots of eBay UK Trust & Safety to pick up on this and apply it quite quickly) as well as more “liberal” sites such as eBid and Bonanzle.

Red Bull, known as KratingDaeng in Thailand, where it originates, is owned by Red Bull Beverage Co. of Thailand, with subsidiary companies and production plants in several countries.

Here on “the island” we get the Thai version of Red Bull – it comes in glass bottles rather than the cans used in the west, is sweeter and uncarbonated.  It is altogether a far better product than the adulterated rubbish available in Europe and North America – but that’s just my opinion of course.

Ed