EBay fined millions for allowing fakes

by ppeggy | July 6, 2008 at 09:35 am | 232 views | add comment

That's a hard one. How can you spot a fake on EBay? Any ideas? Apparently sellers of such fakes use photos of the real thing in their ads. How can EBay even spot a fake? Is it their responsibility? The court obviously thinks so. What about the people who post fakes as the real thing? Aren't they the ones who should be fined? This whole thing doesn't make sense to me.

The internet auctioneer eBay was ordered today to pay almost €40 million (£31 million) to luxury goods companies including Louis Vuitton and Christian Dior for allowing fake copies of their products be sold via its website.

LVMH had accused eBay of knowingly letting people sell fakes

A court in Paris found that eBay had committed "serious errors" and awarded damages to the two companies owned by the LVMH group of €19.3 million and €16.3 million respectively.

It also ordered eBay to pay more than €3.25 million to four perfume brands – Christian Dior, Kenzo, Givenchy and Guerlain – for "illicit sales" of their products, as these should only be sold through specialist dealers.

The court banned eBay from "broadcasting adverts of perfume or cosmetic goods" of these brands or those "presented as such".

LVMH had accused eBay of knowingly letting people use its site to sell fake bags, lipstick, perfume and clothes.

LVMH hailed the decision as a major victory against illegal sales on the Internet.

"It is a major first, because of the principles that it recognizes and the amount sought," said an aide to LVMH's president, Bernard Arnault.

Describing eBay's anti-counterfeit measures as "empty", the spokesman said the ruling was "important for the creative industry" and that it "protected brands by considering them an important part of French heritage."