(Adds details, eBay decision to appeal, recap on Hermes case)
PARIS (Thomson Financial) - The commercial court in Paris on Monday ordered
eBay Inc. to pay nearly 40 million euros in damages to six LVMH-owned brands,
principally for allowing the sale of counterfeit goods.
The court ordered the online auction giant to pay 19.28 million euros to
Louis Vuitton Malletier and 17.3 million euros to Christian Dior Couture as
damages for the sale of counterfeit products.
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.
Contacted by Agence France-Presse, an eBay spokeswoman said the company will
immediately appeal the decision.
"The decision does not relate to the fight against counterfeiting. It is
about LVMH's wish to protect commercial practices that exclude all competition,"
the spokeswoman said.
According to sources close to the deal cited by AFP, the LVMH brands
involved in the case had been seeking about 50 million euros in damages from
eBay.
The Paris court authorised 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 websites for the next three weeks.
In similar case, a court in Reims, near Paris, ordered eBay earlier this
month to pay 20,000 euros in damages to luxury group Hermes International.
The ruling, was a first in France, found eBay directly responsible for the
sale on its website of three Hermes bags, including two fakes, for a total of
3,000 euros.
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