They’ve been fighting for six years, but it looks like online marketplace eBay and luxury goods firm LVMH are ready to play nice - with the two settling a longstanding legal battle over counterfeit products.
The fallout began in 2008 over the sale of fake products on eBay, with a French court ordering the online auction site to pay LVMH 38.6 million. The price was later lowered in an appeals court, but then in 2010 eBay was hit by another lawsuit alleging it had keywords on the site that negatively impacted the Louis Vuitton brand.
While no specific details of the settlement between the two companies has been released, a joint statement from eBay and LVMH reveals the two will work together to protect intellectual property rights and combat counterfeits in online commerce.
The statement from eBay senior vice president Michael Jacobson and LVMH vice president Pierre Godé reads: eBay and LVMH announced a co-operative effort to protect intellectual property rights and combat counterfeits in online commerce. Thanks to the co-operation measures put in place, the companies have settled ongoing litigation. Thanks to our joint efforts, consumers will enjoy a safer digital environment globally.”
The case comes on the back of eBay settling with L'Oréal Paris earlier this year on a similar case. eBay is committed to trying to stop the sale of counterfeit items on its site.
