EBay Ordered to Pay LVMH $63M

By JCK Online Staff -- JCK Online, June 30, 2008

A court in Paris on Monday ordered eBay Inc. to pay approximately $63 million in damages to six LVMH-owned brands, principally for allowing the sale of counterfeit goods, according to media reports.

The court ordered the online auction giant to pay 19.28 million euros to Louis Vuitton Malletier and 16.3 million euros to Christian Dior Couture as damages for the sale of counterfeit products, Thomson Financial reports. In addition, eBay was told to pay 3.25 million euros to four perfume brands—Christian Dior, Kenzo, Givenchy and Guerlain—for infringing on a selective distribution network.

The court also said it would impose a fine eBay 50,000 euros a day if it failed to stop advertising the sale of the perfume brands, plus another 50,000 euros a day if it did not prevent its members from featuring the brands in their announcements.

An eBay spokeswoman told Agence France-Presse the company will immediately appeal the decision.

The Paris court authorized LMVH to publish the ruling in three national or international newspapers, while requiring eBay to do the same in French and in English on all its Web sites for the next three weeks, Thomson reports.