LVMH wins $63M in eBay counterfeit lawsuit
June 30, 2008
Paris—A French court has ordered
eBay to pay LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton 40 million euros (about $63 million), ruling that the online auction giant did not do enough to prevent the sale of counterfeit goods on its site, according to a report on Monday from
Bloomberg.
Luxury-goods maker LVMH claimed in the lawsuit that eBay, the world's largest Internet auctioneer, has a heightened responsibility to prevent fraud. According to the report, LVMH said it found that in 2006, 90 percent of the Louis Vuitton- and Dior-labeled perfumes, watches and bags being offered on eBay were fakes.
In a statement, eBay said that it would appeal the ruling.
"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 published by
Bloomberg. "We will fight this ruling on their behalf."
A
ruling in a U.S. lawsuit filed by
Tiffany and Co. against eBay is still pending. The bench trial was held before a federal court judge in New York in November 2007.
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