Used Medical Devices Being Sold on EBay

[mandy]

Consumers can buy and sell almost anything on eBay, the giant online auctioneer -- including a used tube designed to be inserted into a patient's jugular.

That little-known commodity, a refurbished single-use medical device, was recently offered by a seller who could not be identified, and there was no way of knowing who bought it and whether it was ultimately used on a patient.

Manufacturers of single-use devices say they cannot vouch for the safety of their instruments if they are reconditioned.

EBay Inc. says it is not its role to oversee the buying and selling of such devices on its service. "We don't take responsibility for items sold on the site," said company spokesman Hani Durzy. "We're a marketplace."

full article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/con...02078.html

[mandy]

... participants in a "Verified Rights Owner" program can get expeditious removal of listings merely by registering and reporting claimed infringements of their trademarks or copyrights. So Mars Candy can stop the sale of M&M-patterned pillows with a letter, but eBay is just "a marketplace" when it comes to percutaneous lead introducers and biopsy instruments.

...There's just something strange about a system that gives a market more incentive to police pictures than pacemakers.

full blog article: http://www.corante.com/copyfight/archive...illows.php

[bargainbloodhound]

...There's just something strange about a system that gives a market more incentive to police pictures than pacemakers.

Yep.