LVMH, EBay Settle Counterfeit Lawsuit

LVMH and eBay have settled their long-running European litigation over counterfeits on the auction site.

As a result of the settlement, the two parties plan an effort to protect intellectual property and combat counterfeits that includes new cooperation measures, a statement said. It did not provide further details about that effort, but declared, “Thanks to our joint efforts, consumers will enjoy a safer digital environment globally.”

Unlike Tiffany’s similar suit against eBay in the United States—which resulted in a series of wins for eBay, even after Tiffany took it all the way to the Supreme Court—LVMH has had much more success pressing its case against the dot-com giant in Europe.

LVMH first sued eBay in 2006, arguing that 90 percent of certain items bearing LVMH brand names sold on the site were fake. In 2008, a French court ruled in its favor, awarding LVMH 38.6 million Euros, or about $61 million, in damages. A subsequent court ruling lowered that amount to 5.7 million Euros, and then another court ruling partially overturned the verdict, reports say.

 

JCK News Director

Log Out

Are you sure you want to log out?

CancelLog out