The United Kingdom's High Court has ruled that U.S. Internet service provider, eBay, cannot be held liable for the sale of counterfeit products via its Web site. The decision was made in the suit initiated by L'Oréal, which claimed that that eBay has not taken adequate steps to stop sales of fake products bearing their trade marks. The UK High Court, however, found that the popular online auction and shopping Web site is not liable for trade mark infringements committed by its users and that eBay has met its legal obligation in addressing problems of the sale of counterfeit items.
Several questions still remain as to the interpretation of the Trade Marks Directive and its implication on L'Oréal's entitlement to relief. These will be raised before the European Court of Justice. Actually, L'Oréal has launched similar actions against eBay in several other European countries, including France, Belgium and Spain. In France, the courts first ruled against eBay in a similar action brought by Louis Vuitton and Hermes, but later they took the same decision as the UK court in an action brought by L'Oréal.
Several questions still remain as to the interpretation of the Trade Marks Directive and its implication on L'Oréal's entitlement to relief. These will be raised before the European Court of Justice. Actually, L'Oréal has launched similar actions against eBay in several other European countries, including France, Belgium and Spain. In France, the courts first ruled against eBay in a similar action brought by Louis Vuitton and Hermes, but later they took the same decision as the UK court in an action brought by L'Oréal.