## Facts

- Louis Vuitton Malletier S.A. owned and marketed luxury goods under the “Louis Vuitton” trademarks and alleged widespread counterfeiting online.
- eBay operated a fee-based online marketplace enabling users to list goods for auction or fixed-price sale and provided tools that increased listing visibility and facilitated transactions.
- Louis Vuitton claimed a substantial share of “Louis Vuitton” listings on eBay were counterfeit and that eBay had long been aware counterfeit listings recurred on its platform.
- Louis Vuitton asserted eBay’s conduct went beyond passive hosting because eBay structured and promoted offers, assisted sellers with listings, and profited via commissions.
- eBay argued it was a hosting provider under EU e-commerce rules as implemented in France, that it removed listings upon notice, and that it had no general obligation to monitor user listings.
- Louis Vuitton sought civil remedies for trademark counterfeiting/infringement and related unfair competition-type liability based on eBay’s alleged fault in permitting recurrent illegal sales.

## Issues

1. Whether eBay’s marketplace activity qualified for hosting-provider limited liability or instead constituted an active role triggering ordinary civil and trademark liability.
2. Whether eBay’s knowledge of recurrent counterfeit sales and continued profit from transactions supported liability for trademark infringement/counterfeiting and fault-based civil liability.
3. What duty of care an online marketplace owed to prevent foreseeable illegal sales when notified of systemic counterfeiting patterns.

## Decision

- The court found eBay liable to Louis Vuitton for failing to prevent sales of counterfeit Louis Vuitton products through its platform.
- The court rejected eBay’s reliance on hosting-provider safe-harbor protections, concluding eBay’s involvement exceeded neutral, technical hosting.
- The court ordered substantial monetary relief as part of coordinated judgments issued the same day involving LVMH entities, including damages and compensation for harm to brand image.
- The court also ordered corrective publicity measures, including publication of the judgment in major newspapers and prominent display on eBay.fr for a specified period.

## Legal Principles

- A platform that plays an active role in organizing, promoting, and optimizing sales may be treated as more than a host and may lose intermediary limited-liability protections.
- Where a marketplace knows or should know of repeated counterfeiting and continues to benefit economically, failure to implement effective preventive measures can constitute actionable civil fault supporting trademark-related liability.
- While intermediary rules may preclude a blanket obligation to monitor all user activity, specific duties may arise from the platform’s degree of control over listings and its awareness of recurring illegal patterns.
- Courts may award both economic damages and separate compensation for non-economic injury to trademark reputation and brand image resulting from counterfeit trafficking.

## Conclusion

The Paris Commercial Court held that eBay’s active, profit-driven management of marketplace transactions, combined with awareness of recurring counterfeit listings, supported civil and trademark-related liability and precluded treatment as a neutral hosting provider entitled to safe-harbor limitations.


Louis Vuitton Malletier S.A. v. eBay Inc., No. 2006077799 (Trib. com. Paris June 30, 2008)