EBay cannot be held legally accountable for the sale of fake L'Oreal goods, including perfumes and face creams, on its Web site, according to a decision in the U.K. High Court.
The decision is a victory for both consumers and entrepreneurs who sell legitimate goods on the site every day, according to a statement from eBay.
France-based L'Oreal says it is satisfied with the judgment from the U.K. High Court, according to a statement. That the court accepted its argument that eBay could do more could do more to prevent the sale of counterfeit goods is a small victory, according to a spokesman at L'Oreal.
The judgment lists 10 things it would appear possible for eBay to do to better police its site, including filtering listings before they are posted on the site and using additional filters to detect listings of, for example, samples and other not-for-sale products.
The solution to the problem of counterfeit goods for sale on its site is cooperation, not litigation, according to eBay.
The case goes back to 2007 when L'Oreal, concerned over the sale of counterfeit goods, reported eBay to the police in the U.K., as well as in France, Belgium, Germany and Spain. So far eBay has racked up victories in U.K, France and Belgium, but lost in Germany.