The UK High Court of Justice rules that an auction website cannot be held responsible for fake products sold through its web site and refers to the ECJ for some other key issues (L’Oréal / eBay)

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High Court of Justice, Chancery Division, L’Oréal S.A, Lancôme Parfums et Beaute & CIE, Laboratoire Garnier & CIE, L’Oréal (U.K.) Limited v. eBay International AG, eBay Europe S.A.R.L., eBay (UK) Limited, Stephen Potts, Tracy Ratchford, Marie Ormsby, James Clarke, Joanna Clarke, Glen Fox, Rukhsana Bi , Case n° HC07C01978, 22 May 2009

Is eBay primarily and/or jointly liable for trademark infringements committed by some of its users selling counterfeit items through the auction website? Does the online auctioneer itself commit infringements by using luxury brands as advertising keywords, in order to promote its online activities ? More generally, who should ultimately bear the burden of policing the eBay website for fakes : trademark owners or eBay itself? In a nutshell, those are the main questions raised by a number of lawsuits filed around the world (especially in Europe and the US) and brought to courts by luxury companies suing eBay on the ground of trademark infringements for failing to keep fakes off its site. In the case at hands (High Court of England and Wales, Chancery Division, 22nd May 2009 [1] ),

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Christophe Collard, The UK High Court of Justice rules that an auction website cannot be held responsible for fake products sold through its web site and refers to the ECJ for some other key issues (L’Oréal / eBay), 22 mai 2009, e-Competitions May 2009, Art. N° 26716

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