eBay and LVMH settle counterfeit lawsuit

eBay and LVMH have settled a long running lawsuit and agreed to work more closely in the fight against counterfeit goods.

The online marketplace had reportedly allowed counterfeits of LVMH brands such as Louis Vuitton and Christion Dior to be sold on its site, as well as fake Dior, Guerlain, Givenchy and Kenzo perfumes.

Since the lawsuit was filed by the French luxury goods retailer in 2008, eBay has been levied with a series of fines which it has appealed.

In the same year, eBay was ordered to pay nearly €40m in compensation to LVMH. In 2010, the fine was reduced to €5.7m by a lower court, and in turn that ruling was partially overturned in 2012 as the court ruled it did not have jurisdiction over all of eBay’s sites.

In its defence, eBay has consistently claimed that it spends a large amount of time and money trying to prevent the sale of counterfeit products on its websites.

Given the sheer volume of items in trade on eBay and the fragmented seller community, intercepting fraudulent listings is a mammoth task. To that end, LVMH and eBay have settled the lawsuit and have “announced a cooperative effort to protect intellectual property rights and combat counterfeits in online commerce,” the companies stated in a joint statement released on July 17.

Both companies agreed that they were acting in the best interests of the consumer. Michael Jacobson, senior vice president and general counsel at eBay, and Pierre Gode, vice president at LVMH, said: “Thanks to our joint efforts, consumers will enjoy a safe digital environment globally.”

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