Ebay Not Guilty In L'Oréal Fake Goods Row

by Robin Pilgrim, LawAndTax-News.com, London

28 May 2009

The trademark infringement dispute between cosmetic giant L'Oréal and internet auction site eBay has come to an end after the High Court ruled in favour of the latter.

L'Oréal believes that the sale of imitation goods on the auction site is damaging both its business and reputation. The French cosmetics giant has filed over 100 lawsuits over eBay trade in its goods. It initiated the suit against eBay itself in an attempt to make the company jointly liable for the sale of counterfeit goods through its website.

However, eBay fought back with the claim it does run a scheme which attempts to cut down on trademark infringement (the Verified Rights Owner scheme), but L'Oréal had chosen not to participate in it as it makes the prevention of trademark infringement the sole responsibility of the trademark holder.

The High Court has ruled that eBay has "no legal duty" to protect the trademarks of other companies.

Commenting on the verdict, a spokesperson for eBay remarked:

“This is an important judgment because it ensures that consumers can continue to buy genuine products at competitive prices on eBay.”

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