EBay is ordered to pay €40 million in Louis Vuitton lawsuit
Ebay's German headquarters. Photo: Sean Gallup/Getty Images
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EBay Inc., the world's largest Internet auctioneer, was ordered to pay LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA 40 million euros ($63 million) over claims it didn't do enough to stop the sale of counterfeit goods.
LVMH, the world's largest luxury-goods maker, claimed in the Paris lawsuit that EBay has a heightened responsibility to prevent fraud. The ruling also places limits on the online sales of LVMH perfumes.
''It's a groundbreaking decision that will help protect creativity,'' said Pierre Gode, a member of LVMH's supervisory board and adviser to chairman Bernard Arnault. ''It's an important precedent.''
LVMH said it found in 2006 that 90 percent of the Louis Vuitton and Dior-labeled perfumes, watches and handbags on EBay were fakes. Online sales of counterfeit clothes, bags and jewelry cost makers of original products about $30 billion a year, Tiffany & Co. and other retailers claim in a U.S. lawsuit.
Ebay said in a statement that it would appeal.
''Today's ruling is not about our fight against counterfeits; today's ruling is about an attempt by LVMH to protect uncompetitive commercial practices at the expense of consumer choice and the livelihood of law-abiding sellers that EBay empowers everyday,'' EBay said in an e-mailed statement. ''We will fight this ruling on their behalf.''
'Trust and Security'
EBay already spends about $20 million annually on ''trust and security'' matters and has 2,000 employees around the world to fight counterfeits.
Another court ruled this month in a case filed by Hermes International SA that the San Jose, California-based company is a partner to its vendors and must take more steps to fight fakes.
The cases in France, EBay's fourth-largest market, are seeking to raise the legal requirements on the company. The judge in the Hermes case said EBay should require certificates of authenticity and serial numbers for sales. (Bloomberg)
- Ladka Bauerova
