Court Rules for Hermes In EBay Counterfeit Suit

Published: Thursday, June 05, 2008
By Katya Foreman

PARIS Hermès International scored a court victory Wednesday against eBay for selling counterfeit luxury goods.

Quoting a judgment from France's Tribunal de Grande Instance in Troyes, Hermès said eBay, plus the individual seller, had "committed acts of counterfeit" and "prejudice" against it by failing to monitor the authenticity of goods being sold on its Web site.

In a verdict billed as a first in France, it is understood eBay was ordered to pay 20,000 euros, or $31,058 at current exchange, in damages, though Hermès declined to confirm the amount.

The vendor, referred to as Madame C. F., eBay France and eBay International are the entities named in the case.

In a statement, Hermès said the win marks "an important step in the fight against counterfeiting."

EBay said it takes counterfeiting seriously and since the Hermès case was brought has put new procedures in place to fight it by more closely scrutinizing sellers.

Europe's luxury players are becoming increasingly vigilant in the fight against fakes.

As reported, Christian Dior was awarded 150,000 euros, or around $230,000, in damages last April when it won a case against the French budget jewelry chain Camille & Lucie for peddling a style resembling the floral Diorette ring.

Since the introduction of new laws in October, a legal framework exists in France against copyright and trademark infringements.

From WWD.

Definitely not keen on this. I don't believe that the responsibility should be on eBay to assess the authenticity of everything posted to the site - that's not the service they provide.

maybe i should report jack london

haha

Post by GODandShopping

maybe i should report jack london

haha

Catty.

I'm meeting more and more people that hate the label. I wonder how long it will survive.

This commentary from a few years back when Tiffany was suing eBay. I've edited it down and highlighted for brevity.

Heads You Lose, Tails I Win - The Paradox of Suing eBay

As Tiffanys lawsuit against eBay gets closer to trial, it has inspired many a doomsayer to challenge the continued viability of eBays business model. If eBay facilitates counterfeiting, Tiffany argues, they should be held accountable or not exist. Like many companies with lofty pedigrees, Tiffany is acting on fears of more than counterfeiting. They want to clamp down on the online trade of their branded goods - both counterfeit and real - because they fear losing control over the distribution of their products in the face of a growing secondary market.

Instead of suing eBay, Kate Spade chose a strategy that combats counterfeiters of their luxury handbags head-on. The company employs a team of law school interns to monitor online auctions for fakes. Kate Spade maintains a detailed archive of its collections so its been easy to spot counterfeits from uploaded photos on listings. eBay provides them with tools to report offenders and terminate their auctions with the touch of a button. The system works well as counterfeiters, dissuaded by their efforts, move to other, less vigilant brands.

A similar strategy with a slight twist is the lifetime trade-in program offered by Tourneau, the worlds largest watch retailer. Tourneau allows you to trade in any Tourneau watch for credit towards a new, more expensive one. This program drives their inventory back to them rather than directly to eBay. After inspecting the watches for authenticity and refurbishing them, they channel them back to eBay through online auction facilitators that sell them as certified-pre-owned, insuring the ultimate recipient has a positive experience with the brand.

The executives at Kate Spade, Callaway and Tourneau already know what Tiffany and many other companies have yet to realize - that the secondary market is a good thing for brands because it actually increases the value of their products in the primary market. People pay a significant premium to buy a Mercedes-Benz automobile because they know that there will be a strong market for the car when it comes time to sell it. Imagine what would happen if Mercedes found a legal way to stop people from being able to sell their cars, or make it more expensive for them to do so. The value of their new cars would plummet and their brand would erode.

Post Last Updated:05.06.2008 at 19.51

Battle of the Titans: LVMH Awarded $61.3M In EBay Counterfeit Case

PARIS EBay's legal troubles just got deeper at least in France.

A landmark decision in a legal battle between luxury goods companies and eBay was handed down by a French court Monday, slapping the online auction site with the highest fine ever awarded against it in Europe.

After a two-year legal process, eBay Inc. and eBay International were ordered to pay LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton compensation totaling 38.9 million euros, or $61.3 million at current exchange, for allowing the sale of counterfeit goods and for the unlawful sale of authentic fragrances.

Yes, it's a landmark case. A case of landmark stupidity. In handing this down the French court has stated that it is eBays responsibility to verify the integrity of everything sold on the site. Or that is, sold within their property.

Naturally the French government will also be soon coughing up millions, if not billions, of Euros. After all, a lack of policing and anti-counterfeit operations has allowed for such goods to be sold throughout France. If eBay is responsible for what is sold and for what they profit from, then so to should the government be.

If you think about how many items are put up for sale every minute on ebay it would take them years to go through each one to check it's integrity!

I agree with Daniel: the responsibility isn't really with eBay but those putting things on sale. The number of items on eBay would make it near impossible to scan every single one. There should maybe be an option you have to check off before uploading your item stating that, to your best knowledge, the item you are selling is authentic. That would mean eBay is taking a stand against counterfeiters and the responsibility would lie with the seller. If they've lied, it's their problem, not eBay's.

yeah onus should be on the seller. im surprised ebay didnt cover their asses air tight over this matter legally beforehand.