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eBay Loses Another Suit Over Louis Vuitton Brand
eBay has recently lost another lawsuit filed against it by the luxury goods maker Louis Vuitton Malletier (“LV”).
LV claimed that eBay was harming the reputation of its trademarks, company name, and domain name, by using keywords on its site in a manner which hurt the Louis Vuitton brand. eBay had been buying keywords such as “Viton”, “Vitton” and “Wuiton”, so that online shoppers who misspelled LV’s name, along with anyone using the brand’s correct spelling, would be directed to links promoting eBay.
The Paris District Court agreed with LV and ordered eBay to pay damages in the amount of €200,000, as well as to cover LV’s legal fees. eBay will also be fined €1,000 for each future violation.
eBay plans to appeal the decision. Yohan Ruso, the director general of eBay in France, states that this decision “flies in the face” of the legal victory obtained by eBay against Ralph Lauren in an appeal of a similar case in Belgium. He further stated that this issue is “being used by certain rights owners as an excuse to retain total control of what people can buy, where they can buy it from, and how much they have to pay.”
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