A Paris tribunal ruled against eBay Inc, in a counterfeiting case brought on by LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton.
A host of perfume and cosmetics brands under the LVMH umbrella filed suit against the online auction house, alleging it used its product names in keyword searches powered by Google Inc. Essentially, the suit raised the question of whether it is trademark infringement to buy and sell words used in advertisements.
The online auction site was ordered to pay 80,000 euros ($117,600 USD) in fines, and 1000 euros ($1470) for every future infringement.
“LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton”¦ takes note of and is satisfied with today’s ruling,” the company said in a statement. “This decision gives credence to the requests made by Parfums Christian Dior, Kenzo, Givenchy, and Guerlain.”
LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton is parent company of TAG Heuer, Zenith, Hublot, De Beers Diamond Jewellers, Chaumet, and other luxury brands.
