UPDATE: EBay Fined EUR40 Million For Selling Fake Luxury Goods
Monday June 30th, 2008 / 12h54
(Updates details of fine, background.) PARIS (AFP)--A Paris court on Monday ordered the online auctioneer eBay Inc. (EBAY) to pay EUR40 million in damages to LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMUY) for selling fake luxury goods online. The commercial court ruled in favor of six LVMH brands which accused eBay of putting on sale fake handbags, clothes and other luxury goods and of illicit sales of perfumes in a case that began a year and a half ago. EBay, the world's biggest online auctioneer, was ordered to pay EUR19.28 million to LVMH and EUR17.3 million to its sister company Christian Dior SA (13040.FR) for damage to their brand images and causing moral harm. It must also pay EUR3.25 million to four perfume brands - Christian Dior, Kenzo, Givenchy and Guerlain - for sales in violation of its authorized network. The court barred eBay, which said it will appeal the ruling, from advertising the cosmetic or perfume brands on its Web site. LVMH had argued that eBay had failed to do enough to prevent the sale of counterfeit copies of their goods and that it didn't have legal permission to sell its authentic products. The ruling came amid a flurry of legal action against the online giant, which claims to have some 84 million active users in 39 markets worldwide. Earlier this month, eBay was convicted by a French court of selling counterfeit goods and ordered to pay EUR20,000 damages to French luxury group Hermes SA (HRPE.RA). The court ruling, which marked a first in France, found eBay directly responsible for the sale on its Web site of three Hermes bags including two fakes, for a total of EUR3,000. France's traditional auctioneers took legal action against the online auctioneer in December, accusing it of encouraging trade in pirated and stolen goods. A council representing the auction industry also accuses the internet trader of breaking a French 2000 law that requires all auctioneers to be approved by the state. EBay said the total value of items sold on its trading platforms in 2007 was nearly $60 billion. Click here to go to Dow Jones NewsPlus, a web front page of today's most important business and market news, analysis and commentary: http://www.djnewsplus.com/al?rnd=3lGBWWahUFfXD%2FiXfjAf1g%3D%3D. You can use this link on the day this article is published and the following day.
LVMH est le leader mondial des produits de luxe. Le CA par famille de produits se répartit comme suit : - articles de mode et de maroquinerie (33,9%)...
