eBay punished for fake goods sales
Court orders auction giant to pay €38 million damages and cease selling fake items immediately or face further fines.
Internet auction group eBay has been fined €38million for selling fake goods online and threatened with further penalties of €50,000 per day until it removes such items from its site.
It is the second time in less than a month that French courts have fined the site. In June it was ordered to pay €20,000 in a case which involved a seller registered with the site selling fake Hermès bags.
The fine will go to several luxury brands of the LVMH group; €19million to Louis Vuitton Malletier, €15million to Dior Couture, €1.3million to Dior Parfums, €667,000 for Kenzo and €686,000 to Givenchy and Guerlain.
eBay’s European director, Alexandre Menais, said: “This decision is totally unfair and disproportionate.
“We are going to appeal and fight this to the end. The amount of damages and fines reflects more the prestige of the complainants rather than anything they have actually suffered.”
He added: “We have put in place measures to fight against counterfeit goods and we will co-operate with manufacturers to ensure that these strategies are effective.”
The Paris court said eBay had committed serious errors and had not fulfilled its obligations to ensure that activity on the site was legal.
Speaking on behalf of LVMH, lawyer Didier Malka said: “Until now, eBay hid behind its status as a host site. They gambled everything on this defence.
“The judgement states clearly that eBay is not just limited to hosting the announcements of sales. In effect eBay takes its profits by charging a percentage on the sales.”
