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June 30, 2008 7:40 AM PDT

Zut alors! French court rules against eBay in luxury goods suit

by Caroline McCarthy
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You'd think the parent company of $1,500 Louis Vuitton handbags would be able to tolerate a few fakes on eBay. Not so.

And a French court agreed on Monday, ordering the online auction giant to pay $61 million (38.6 million euros) to luxury goods powerhouse LVMH, according to Reuters. LVMH, along with other luxury-brand groups like Tiffany & Co. and Hermes, has claimed that eBay isn't strict enough about policing the sale of counterfeit goods on its site.

eBay promptly appealed the court decision, saying that LVMH was simply trying to crack down on competition; eBay makes money off any LVMH goods sold on its site, real or fake, whereas LVMH itself does not.

LVMH has an impressive portfolio containing a whole lot of brands that Kanye West has probably name-dropped in multiple songs, like Louis Vuitton, Acqua di Parma, Thomas Pink, Dior, Givenchy, Moet & Chandon, De Beers, and Marc Jacobs.

Monday's ruling encompassed a number of individual cases brought by LVMH brands like Dior Couture, Guerlain, Givenchy, and Kenzo. The 38.6 million euros awarded fell short of the 50 million euros that the luxury goods house had claimed in damages.

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About The Social

CNET News' Caroline McCarthy is a downtown Manhattanite who believes that, despite popular opinion, the Web can actually help your social life. She's happily addicted to fun social-media tools from Twitter to Yelp to Facebook, sends an inordinate number of text messages, and has a tendency to waste time at the office reading restaurant blogs. Here, she explores all facets of the Web's gregarious side, as well as the unique tech culture in her home city of New York. (Don't call it Silicon Alley.)

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