eBay vs. L’Oréal – And the Battle Rages On…
The Belgian Tribunal de Commerce ruled in favor of Ebay in its legal battle against L’Oréal regarding the alleged sale of counterfeit Lancôme perfumes. The Belgian court based its decision on the fact that Ebay is merely a passive provider of “host” services, and not a regular brick-and-mortar auctioneer.
As such, the court added, it is therefore entitled to more legal flexibility.
This had been Ebay’s second win, the first being its case aginst Tiffany & co. in New York. However, the score is still on at 2 wins and 3 losses. Ebay has lost its case against Rolex (in Germany) and LVMH and Hermès (in France).
However, it will probably be a long time before Ebay can finally breathe a sigh of relief since L’Oréal has also filed four other suits against eBay in other courts across the European Community.
