[kall]

It's a curly one, that's for certain.

There are a few things to take into consideration:

1. Ebay could always take you to ICAAN over your usage of 'ebay' in your domain name.

Originally Posted by netatty.com/trade.html

InterNIC, the company that grants domain names in the United States, has been forced to institute a policy regarding trademarks because of the intense vitriol surrounding the issue. Domain name applicants must now affirm that the requested name does not infringe upon the rights of any third party and that use of the name will not involve any unlawful purpose. If a dispute arises, the domain name holder is given thirty days to show that it has the right to use the trademark. If the proof is not satisfactory, the domain name will be placed on hold until the dispute is resolved through litigation or arbitration.

Trademarks can appear in portions of the URL other than the domain name. A subdirectory name can use a trademark, or a specific file name can contain a trademark. For example, the fictional URL http://www.sflegal.net/attorney/pepsi/pizzahut.html would seem to violate two trademarks. But a federal judge in California has ruled that such usage is entitled to less protection than domain names because it is merely descriptive and does not entail the likelihood of confusion that domain name usage does. As long as the content of the page does not lead to confusion about source, then there is no violation when a server uses a trademark as a descriptive indicator [in a subdirectory].

As in other areas of law, freedom of speech may be a defense to suit for violation of trademark, particularly when satire or parody is involved. The defense is limited, however, and will generally not avail when there is commercial intent or alternative avenues of communication.

You have their trademark in your domain name, and your entire site's existance comes from the fact that ebay.com exists, so you could be shown to be gaining from the usage of ebay in your domain title.

2. Your host has Terms of Use that you are required to follow:

Originally Posted by surfspeedy

Transmission, distribution or storage of any material in violation of any applicable law or regulation is prohibited. This includes, without limitation, material protected by copyright, trademark, trade secret or other intellectual property right used without proper authorization...

We will be the sole arbiters as to what constitutes a violation of this provision.

So, if ebay can convince them that your use is an unauthorised breach of trademark, they would have the right to pull the plug on your hosting account.

3. If it does come down to a legal battle...what on earth will you do if they are awarded costs? By that I mean, they will have the right to claim for the costs of their time and the time of their lawyers etc, and if granted, you would have to pay. Costs can be awared even if they 'lose' the case.
Also, if there is legal action involving your host, I saw some clauses in there that mean you have to pay towards their costs too.