Since a number of people have emailed me seeking English translations of the various international rulings relating to whether eBay (or other online auction houses, of course) can be held liable when visitors sell counterfeit goods on its site, I thought I’d collect and post all the translations I have in one location. They might be easier to find this way using a search engine. If and when I obtain more, I’ll add them. (I’m not bothering with accents and the like because they’re a hassle to produce and also sometimes foil searches when the query doesn’t include them.)
BELGIUM
July 31, 2008: Lancome Parfums et Beaute (L’Oreal) v. eBay in the Commercial Court in Brussels (Tribunal de commerce de Bruxelles)
Lancome (L’Oreal) in English
Lancome (L’Oreal) in French
FRANCE:
June 4, 2008: Hermes v. eBay in the Troyes Court of First Instance (Tribunal de grande instance de Troyes)
Hermes ruling in English (This file also includes English translations of all the LVMH rulings)
Hermes ruling in French or French link
June 30, 2008: The three LVMH rulings in the Commercial Court of Paris (Tribunal de commerce de Paris):
1. SA Louis Vuitton Malletier v. eBay
Louis Vuitton Malletier in English
Louis Vuitton Malletier in French
2. Christian Dior Couture v. eBay
Christian Dior Couture in English
Christian Dior Couture in French (link)
3. SA Parfums Christian Dior v. eBay
Parfums Christian Dior in English
Parfums Christian Dior in French (link)
July 11: stay denied in Parfums Christian Dior (Guerlain) appeals by Court of Appeal of Paris (Cour d’appel de Paris)
[sorry, no English translation yet]
French link
GERMANY
April 30, 2008: ricardo.de v Rolex in the Federal Court of Justice
Rolex in English
[ricardo.de is not eBay, of course; it’s a different online auction house. eBay itself was also sued by Rolex, with a ruling against eBay in April 2007 having been controlled, I’m told, by the earlier rulings in the ricardo.de case. I don’t have an English translation of the actual eBay case. The German language Rolex v eBay ruling is here.]
UNITED STATES (for convenience and completeness)
July 14, 2008: Tiffany Inc. v eBay in the U.S. District Court, SDNY
Tiffany v eBay