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L’Oréal fails in High Court bid to blame eBay for fakes
Mark Prigg, Science and Technology Correspondent22.05.09
Online “market place” eBay claimed victory today in a High Court test case brought by cosmetics giant L'Oreal.
A judge in London ruled that eBay was not jointly liable for trade mark infringements committed by its users. Mr Justice Arnold announced his decision in the latest of a number of cases brought by L'Oreal in courts around Europe.
The judge said one of the main questions raised by the claim by L'Oreal was: Is eBay Europe liable for trade mark infringements committed by its users?'
In a lengthy written ruling he held that it was “not jointly liable” for such infringements.
L'Oreal had argued eBay was liable for counterfeit goods and parallel imports sold on its website which breach the Paris-based cosmetics giant's trademark.
Ebay's case was that it simply provided a trading platform for consumers to buy and sell products.
L'Oreal lost a case against eBay in Belgium last year, but other retailers have won cases against the site.
A commercial court in Brussels said eBay does not have to police its site to prevent counterfeit products from being sold.
After today's ruling, Richard Ambrose, eBay's head of Trust & Safety, said: “This is an important judgment because it ensures that consumers can continue to buy genuine products at competitive prices on eBay.
“As such, it is a victory for consumers and the thousands of entrepreneurs who sell legitimate goods on eBay every day.”
