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A court in Paris ordered Internet auctioneer eBay to pay USD $ 63.0 million in damages to Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessey (LVMH) for selling fake luxury goods online, intended to send a strong message about copyright protection. eBay, the world’s largest online auctioneer, immediately announced it was lodging an appeal and rejected the view that the court decision was a victory for patent law.
LVMH hailed the decision as a major coup against illegal sales on the Internet. “It is a major first, because of the principles that it recognizes and the amount sought,” remarked Pierre Gode, an aide to LVMH President, Bernard Arnault. Global luxury group LVMH was seeking USD $ 79.0 million in damages from US-based eBay and its Swiss affiliate eBay AG for auctions of fake goods and unauthorized sales of perfumes.
In related news, a ruling in a U.S. lawsuit filed by Tiffany and Co. against eBay is still pending. The bench trial was held before a federal court judge in New York in November 2007.