eBay wins French luxury counterfeit case

Piracy measures good enough

By John Oates • Get more from this author

Posted in Law, 14th May 2009 10:04 GMT

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eBay has won a long-running court case brought by L'Oreal and other luxury brands which accused it of failing to do enough to stop sales of counterfeit goods on its site.

For its part the auctioneer has always said it is willing to work with brands to protect their intellectual property but will not accept an active policing role. So it will respond to takedown notices, but not pre-check every item offered for sale on its site.

The French judge ruled that eBay was doing enough to cover its obligations under the law. The two sides were told to talk about improving how they work together and return to court at the end of the month.

Richard Ambrose, Head of Trust and Safety for eBay UK and Ireland said: “We are delighted that eBay’s meaningful efforts to fight counterfeits online have been recognised by the court... We are also delighted that our status as an internet hosting provider has been acknowledged, and we welcome the invitation to resolve the outstanding matters in an amicable way - we have always believed that cooperation is the best way to fight counterfeits."

The French case has been running since 2007.

Jewellery maker Tiffany lost a similar case against eBay in the US. ®

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