Is eBay Winning the War Against Counterfeits?
EBay, the world's largest Internet auctioneer, is jubilant after winning one of their many lawsuits regarding counterfeit products. A French court found that eBay was not liable for counterfeit L'Oreal perfumes sold on its website. The Parisian court ruled that eBay had met its obligantion to prevent sales of fake goods. The victory is a bit of a surprise considering earlier losses in France to Hermes and LVMH in similar cases however eBay did recently win against watchmaker Rolex.After the ruling eBay issued a press release saying in part that " We are delighted that eBay's meaningful efforts to fight counterfeits online have been recognized by the court, as has our status as an internet-hosting provider. Today, 99% of all items listed on eBay have no suspicion of counterfeits." That''s a pretty bold claim. The auction site does have a team of around 2,000 people in place to fight counterfeit products on the site but it seems a bit soon to declare a total victory in the war against counterfeits.

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Liliane Bettencourt (right), daughter of the man who founded cosmetics giant 