Luxe Knockoffs Cost eBay $63M

French court favors Louis Vuitton; auction giant may boost anti- counterfeit measures

By Jonas Oransky, Newser Staff

Posted Jun 30, 2008 4:48 PM CDT

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Luxe Knockoffs Cost eBay $63M — A model wears a creation by British fashion designer John Galliano for Dior's Haute Couture fall-winter 2008/2009 fashion collection, presented in Paris, Monday June 30, 2008. (AP Photo/Jacques Brinon)

A French court sided today with couturier Louis Vuitton in a suit against eBay, ruling the auctioneer must pay $63.1 million in damages for fake goods sold on its site—a ruling the Wall Street Journal says will force eBay to step up anti-counterfeiting protections. EBay says it will appeal the judgment, its second recent defeat in French courts.

EBay has defended itself by pointing to a program that allows companies to report suspicious items, but the Paris judge was unsatisfied. “It is clear that eBay has become a focal point for certain brand owners' desire to exact ever greater control over e-commerce," the company fired back in a statement. (Read more eBay stories.)