 Reuters reported on Monday that eBay was officially ordered to pay legal fines to French holding company LVMH— the largest luxury goods enterprise in the world. Founded in 1987 when Moët et Chandon and Hennessy united with the lavish Louis Vuitton, LVMH oversees some 60 chic subsidiary fashion lines including Fendi, Marc Jacobs, and Sephora. Allegedly, eBay permitted the sale of faux-versions of Louis Vuitton and Christian Dior products, and as a consequence, has been fined $61 million, or €38.6 million, to cover collected company damages. A break down of the fines, which were ultimately slightly less than the sought-after prices, awards approximately €19 million to Vuitton and €16.5 million to Dior with an additional €2.5 million for several perfume brands which were also violated. LVMH blamed the French branch of eBay for not doing “enough to prevent sales of counterfeit items.” SkyNews reported that the esteemed company additionally cited “culpable negligence” on the e-Commerce website’s behalf, insisting that “eBay knowingly let people use the site to sell fake bags, lipstick, perfumes and clothes purporting to be from the famous names.” It seems as long as fashion brands have existed, so have cheap, counterfeit knock-offs... and this isn’t eBay’s first brand-authenticity discrepancy. Last month, as Reuters commented, the leading online auction website was fined €20,000 for permitting the sale of counterfeit Hermes brand handbags, apparel, and other products. Interested in reading more on the hot-cold relationship between eBay and fashion companies? Check out the dawn of the French-eBay drama and other Parisian predicaments. |
Subscribe to our Blog
