I'm glad these big fashion houses are finally doing something about this & I hope the win!
I've been an ebay user for a fair while & it makes me sick seeing the amount of fakes on ebay. Over 90% of the stuff on ebay is fake in terms of Gucci. LV is about 80% but this is a terrible statistic. I feel so sorry for the ebayers & the amount of times I had to say their purses were fake when auth on purse auth board on ebay..
this was taken from eBay To Be Sued For Counterfeit Products? | News on Websites Internet | Tech2.com India
eBay To Be Sued For Counterfeit Products?
France's Union of Manufacturers (Unifab), an industry group, is all set to sue eBay and other auction sites, for selling counterfeit products on their web pages.
According to Marc Antoine Jamet, chairman of Unifab, the objective of the lawsuit is to crack down on product pirates and fakes that are making profit, thanks to eBay and other Internet auction sites. Other auction sites that may be sued along with eBay include iOffer.com, Yahoo! and Japan's Rakuten.
In defense, Bay spokesman Hani Duzry said the company operates an anti-counterfeit goods program and constantly monitors auctions for blatantly infringing products and removes them. However, Unifab insists that eBAY had refused Unifab's request to shut down merchants of counterfeit goods for the past two years.
The French group has also backed the lawsuit with concrete examples of eBay having sold 2,35,000 counterfeit articles of leather goods maker Louis Vuitton on 340 eBay pages. Unifab will ask prosecutors to seek damages and interest from the auction sites in relation to the alleged losses suffered by the firms, which could run well into millions of Euros. In addition, Unifab also wants to prosecute the sites for providing the means to resell counterfeit goods. The group is also seeking a revision on laws in relation to electronic commerce to make online auctioneers "co-responsible" for the goods that are sold on their sites.
This was taken from http://www.ft.com/cms/s/69f7381a-48cc-11db-a996-0000779e2340.html
Fashion labels sue Ebay over sales of fakes
By Adam Jones in Paris
Published: September 20 2006 18:51 | Last updated: September 20 2006 18:51
The luxury goods industrys determination to stamp out counterfeiting has led to Louis Vuitton and Christian Dior Couture suing Ebay, the online auctioneer, for 37m ($47m, £25m).
It emerged on Wednesday that the two fashion labels began a civil complaint in Paris over the summer in the belief that the products sold on Ebay bearing their names were fakes in the vast majority of cases.
It is the second time that Ebay has been targeted in the courts by a luxury goods group worried about counterfeit sales, viewed as being one of the sectors greatest threats.
The company was already being sued in the US by Tiffany, the jeweller.
Louis Vuitton, part of Frances LVMH, is understood to be demanding 20m in damages and interest allegedly related to sales of counterfeit goods on Ebay between 2001 and 2005.
Christian Dior Couture - part of Christian Dior, which is also controlled by LVMH head Bernard Arnault - is claiming 17m.
Ebays French arm said it had already mounted an aggressive campaign against fakes put up for sale by its members. All sales of counterfeit products on Ebay are totally illegal, it said.
Under a monitoring system called Vero - short for verified rights owner - it encourages trademark owners to notify it of fakes that need to be removed from the site. However, it admits it cannot screen all transactions carried out by its myriad members.
LVMH is understood to want improvements to Ebays monitoring system, which it believes puts an unfair policing obligation on brand owners rather than the auction site itself.
Ebay is also coming under pressure on the issue of counterfeiting from Unifab, a French association for trademark holders, which said on Wednesday that the online auctioneer had agreed to discuss the matter.
LVMH has already successfully sued Google, the search engine operator, in France over allegations that it had provided links to sites that sold counterfeit versions of Louis Vuitton products.
Google was fined 200,000 - a sum that was increased to 300,000 when the US company lost its appeal in June.
As well as hunting down rogue sellers online, luxury goods brands are also trying to decide how best to use the internet for legitimate sales.
Accustomed to close control over distribution, the industry was initially cautious about the web, with its more freewheeling style, but online stores are becoming more common among fashion houses and accessory makers.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2006
I've been an ebay user for a fair while & it makes me sick seeing the amount of fakes on ebay. Over 90% of the stuff on ebay is fake in terms of Gucci. LV is about 80% but this is a terrible statistic. I feel so sorry for the ebayers & the amount of times I had to say their purses were fake when auth on purse auth board on ebay..
this was taken from eBay To Be Sued For Counterfeit Products? | News on Websites Internet | Tech2.com India
eBay To Be Sued For Counterfeit Products?
France's Union of Manufacturers (Unifab), an industry group, is all set to sue eBay and other auction sites, for selling counterfeit products on their web pages.
According to Marc Antoine Jamet, chairman of Unifab, the objective of the lawsuit is to crack down on product pirates and fakes that are making profit, thanks to eBay and other Internet auction sites. Other auction sites that may be sued along with eBay include iOffer.com, Yahoo! and Japan's Rakuten.
In defense, Bay spokesman Hani Duzry said the company operates an anti-counterfeit goods program and constantly monitors auctions for blatantly infringing products and removes them. However, Unifab insists that eBAY had refused Unifab's request to shut down merchants of counterfeit goods for the past two years.
The French group has also backed the lawsuit with concrete examples of eBay having sold 2,35,000 counterfeit articles of leather goods maker Louis Vuitton on 340 eBay pages. Unifab will ask prosecutors to seek damages and interest from the auction sites in relation to the alleged losses suffered by the firms, which could run well into millions of Euros. In addition, Unifab also wants to prosecute the sites for providing the means to resell counterfeit goods. The group is also seeking a revision on laws in relation to electronic commerce to make online auctioneers "co-responsible" for the goods that are sold on their sites.
This was taken from http://www.ft.com/cms/s/69f7381a-48cc-11db-a996-0000779e2340.html
Fashion labels sue Ebay over sales of fakes
By Adam Jones in Paris
Published: September 20 2006 18:51 | Last updated: September 20 2006 18:51
The luxury goods industrys determination to stamp out counterfeiting has led to Louis Vuitton and Christian Dior Couture suing Ebay, the online auctioneer, for 37m ($47m, £25m).
It emerged on Wednesday that the two fashion labels began a civil complaint in Paris over the summer in the belief that the products sold on Ebay bearing their names were fakes in the vast majority of cases.
It is the second time that Ebay has been targeted in the courts by a luxury goods group worried about counterfeit sales, viewed as being one of the sectors greatest threats.
The company was already being sued in the US by Tiffany, the jeweller.
Louis Vuitton, part of Frances LVMH, is understood to be demanding 20m in damages and interest allegedly related to sales of counterfeit goods on Ebay between 2001 and 2005.
Christian Dior Couture - part of Christian Dior, which is also controlled by LVMH head Bernard Arnault - is claiming 17m.
Ebays French arm said it had already mounted an aggressive campaign against fakes put up for sale by its members. All sales of counterfeit products on Ebay are totally illegal, it said.
Under a monitoring system called Vero - short for verified rights owner - it encourages trademark owners to notify it of fakes that need to be removed from the site. However, it admits it cannot screen all transactions carried out by its myriad members.
LVMH is understood to want improvements to Ebays monitoring system, which it believes puts an unfair policing obligation on brand owners rather than the auction site itself.
Ebay is also coming under pressure on the issue of counterfeiting from Unifab, a French association for trademark holders, which said on Wednesday that the online auctioneer had agreed to discuss the matter.
LVMH has already successfully sued Google, the search engine operator, in France over allegations that it had provided links to sites that sold counterfeit versions of Louis Vuitton products.
Google was fined 200,000 - a sum that was increased to 300,000 when the US company lost its appeal in June.
As well as hunting down rogue sellers online, luxury goods brands are also trying to decide how best to use the internet for legitimate sales.
Accustomed to close control over distribution, the industry was initially cautious about the web, with its more freewheeling style, but online stores are becoming more common among fashion houses and accessory makers.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2006
