Skip to main content

Digital Lifestyle > News

Fri, 22 May 2009 eBay fakes: L'Oreal fail in High Court test case

But eBay could do more to police its site, according to judgment

Mikael Ricknäs

  • Email to a friend
  • Print this article
  • Bookmark this page
  • RSS feed

eBay cannot be held legally accountable for the sale of fake L'Oreal goods, including perfumes and face creams, on its Web site, according to a decision in the UK High Court.

The decision is a victory for both consumers and entrepreneurs who sell legitimate goods on the site every day, according to a statement from eBay.

Question of the day!

Mark Hattersley
Editor in Chief

Do you use Adobe Photoshop with a Wacom tablet?

Question of the day!

Do you use Adobe Photoshop with a Wacom tablet?

% of Macworld readers agree with you

Yes
TBC
No
TBC

How does a Wacom tablet improve the Photoshop experience?

124 characters remaining

Follow the conversation at @TabletChat

paintings & illustrations, mostly, which i upload to flickr.RT @fragmentedm

I draw manga/anime characters. I also do graphic design and photography.RT @spialelo

Yes. I usually put them up on my #deviantart account for feedback on how to improve.RT @spialelo

France-based L'Oreal says it is satisfied with the judgment from the UK. High Court, according to a statement. That the court accepted its argument that eBay could do more could do more to prevent the sale of counterfeit goods is a small victory, according to a spokesman at L'Oreal.

The judgment lists 10 things it would appear possible for eBay to do to better police its site, including filtering listings before they are posted on the site and using additional filters to detect listings of, for example, samples and other not-for-sale products.

The solution to the problem of counterfeit goods for sale on its site is cooperation, not litigation, according to eBay.

The case goes back to 2007 when L'Oreal, concerned over the sale of counterfeit goods, reported eBay to the police in the UK, as well as in France, Belgium, Germany and Spain. So far eBay has racked up victories in U.K, France and Belgium, but lost in Germany.

Check out our new Macworld Mobile site.

Follow Macworld UK on twitter: www.twitter.com/macworlduk

Email A Friend

Email this article to a friend or colleague:



PLEASE NOTE: Your name is used only to let the recipient know who sent the story, and in case of transmission error. Both your name and the recipient's name and address will not be used for any other purpose.

<<prev article | back to news index | next article>>

Comments received


Mark Ryder said on Tue, 26 May 2009

just another corporate that make money from others invention and hard work ebay could easily afford to run their business with respect for others copyrights but they are doing the least possible to police whats sold as they can make money from selling fake items so why stop it?
all big business is the same just thieves in suits

Disclaimer
Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Macworld. Macworld accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content.
Click here to read the house rules.

Click here for the latest reader comments

Latest News


More news...