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EU court says eBay may be liable on trademark abuse
Following a ruling by Europe's highest court today, internet auction marketplace eBay may be liable for trademark infringements committed by users on its site if it plays an active role in their use. The auction site may also have to actively monitor its customers to ensure their offers for sale are lawful, the court ruled.
The case relates to allegations of trademark infringement through the sale of branded goods on eBay, lodged by the world's largest cosmetics maker, L'Oreal. The case was a result of L'Oreal's complaint over the sale on eBay of samples or testers explicitly marked "not for sale". L’Oreal also criticized the level of protection offered by eBay against the sale of counterfeit goods and the availability of goods to consumers in the EU that were meant for other markets.
The court ruled that EU trademark rules do apply to offers for the sale of goods located outside the Union if it is clear that those offers target EU consumers and in some cases exemptions from liability offered by EU laws may might not apply. This would be the case particularly when an online service provider, such as eBay, "plays an active role" in managing information related to sale offers.
The court also ruled that an online market provider could be liable if it had enough information to judge that an offer was unlawful and failed to prevent access to it. Under EU law, the Court found that member states had to ensure national courts could order market operators to take measures that help to end trademark infringements by users of a marketplace such as eBay, as well as preventing further infringements of that kind.
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