The High Court has ruled that eBay cannot be held legally accountable for the sale of counterfeit L'Oreal perfumes and face creams on its UK website. The French cosmetics giant had accused the online auction site of putting consumers at risk by failing to stem the sale of fake products on its site. L'Oreal said ebay's measures to stop counterfeiters were ineffective. Thousands of L'Oréal-branded items such as fragrances, eyeshadow and moisturising creams are listed for sale on eBay every day. It said: L'Oreal therefore chose to take legal action in order to protect consumers and also to maintain and defend the reputation of its brands, the products of which are guaranteed for safety and quality within legal distribution channels." But eBay insists it merely provides a trading platform and has no direct involvement in the sale of goods.
Following the ruling, Richard Ambrose, Head of Trust & Safety, eBay said: "This is an important judgment because it ensures that consumers can continue to buy genuine products at competitive prices on eBay. "As such, it is a victory for consumers and the thousands of entrepreneurs who sell legitimate goods on eBay every day." But L'Oreal issued a statement saying it welcomes the court's "guiding comments on measures to prevent trade mark infringement on eBay’s UK platform". It said the decision backed up its view "held from the outset" that eBay could do more to protect consumers.
The ruling follows similar decisions by courts in Belgium and France, which ruled in Ebay's favour in three of the five cases L'Oreal brought against the world's largest online auctioneer in Europe in 2007. A German court ruled in L'Oreal's favour and a decision from Spain is still awaited. Ebay has reiterated its call for cooperation and dialogue, not litigation, to "collectively address the issues that concern eBay, rights owners and consumers".
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