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LVMH wins US$63M in eBay counterfeit lawsuit

July 2008


A French court has ordered eBay to pay LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton 40 million euros (about US$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-labelled 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.

Source: National Jeweler