Online shopping sites such as eBay may be liable for trademark infringements if they play an "active role" in promoting counterfeit goods, Europe's top court ruled today.
In an eagerly awaited ruling with huge implications for e-commerce, the European court of justice in Luxembourg said national courts could order online retailers to stop such infringements and prevent similar incidents in the future.
The verdict followed a series of cases brought by cosmetics and beauty giant L'Oreal across the EU to defend its brand name.
The company is challenging eBay – the world's largest online auctioneer – to clarify the obligations of internet marketplaces under EU law. L'Oreal claims eBay is liable for the sale on its website of counterfeit goods and of "parallel imports" – L'Oreal-branded products not intended for the European market.
The judgment said L'Oreal's complaint against eBay included claims that, by buying keywords from paid internet referencing services (such as Google's AdWords) corresponding to L'Oreal trademarks, eBay "directs its users towards goods that infringe trademark law, which are offered for sale on its website".
Last December, the EU court's advocate-general said eBay should not be liable unless it had been notified by a trademark holder such as L'Oreal of an infringement and if the online offence continued.
In today's final verdict, the full panel of EU judges said it was the right of national courts to order companies such as eBay "to take measures intended not only to bring to an end infringements of intellectual property rights, but also to prevent further infringements of that kind".
The court said in a statement: "When the operator has played an 'active role' … it cannot rely on the exemption from liability which EU law confers, under certain conditions, on online service providers such as operators of internet marketplaces."
The court said action taken by member states must be "effective, proportionate and dissuasive, and must not create barriers to legitimate trade".
The judges said that even in cases where the operator had not played an "active role", it could still be liable for trademark infringement "if it was aware of facts or circumstances on the basis of which a diligent economic operator should have realised that the online offers for sale were unlawful and, in the event of it being so aware, failed to act promptly to remove the data concerned from its website or to disable access to them".
Stefan Krawczyk, senior director and counsel government relations, eBay Europe, said: "The judgment provides some clarity on certain issues, and ensures that all brands can be traded online in Europe."
A spokesman for L'Oreal described the ruling as "a step towards effectively combating the sale of counterfeiting brands and products via the internet". He added: "This decision is in line with the position L'Oréal has taken for several years and is applicable in courts throughout the European Union."
by Rebecca Smithers taken from http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2011/jul/12/ebay-marketplace-sites-trademark-abuse-loreal
In an eagerly awaited ruling with huge implications for e-commerce, the European court of justice in Luxembourg said national courts could order online retailers to stop such infringements and prevent similar incidents in the future.
The verdict followed a series of cases brought by cosmetics and beauty giant L'Oreal across the EU to defend its brand name.
The company is challenging eBay – the world's largest online auctioneer – to clarify the obligations of internet marketplaces under EU law. L'Oreal claims eBay is liable for the sale on its website of counterfeit goods and of "parallel imports" – L'Oreal-branded products not intended for the European market.
The judgment said L'Oreal's complaint against eBay included claims that, by buying keywords from paid internet referencing services (such as Google's AdWords) corresponding to L'Oreal trademarks, eBay "directs its users towards goods that infringe trademark law, which are offered for sale on its website".
Last December, the EU court's advocate-general said eBay should not be liable unless it had been notified by a trademark holder such as L'Oreal of an infringement and if the online offence continued.
In today's final verdict, the full panel of EU judges said it was the right of national courts to order companies such as eBay "to take measures intended not only to bring to an end infringements of intellectual property rights, but also to prevent further infringements of that kind".
The court said in a statement: "When the operator has played an 'active role' … it cannot rely on the exemption from liability which EU law confers, under certain conditions, on online service providers such as operators of internet marketplaces."
The court said action taken by member states must be "effective, proportionate and dissuasive, and must not create barriers to legitimate trade".
The judges said that even in cases where the operator had not played an "active role", it could still be liable for trademark infringement "if it was aware of facts or circumstances on the basis of which a diligent economic operator should have realised that the online offers for sale were unlawful and, in the event of it being so aware, failed to act promptly to remove the data concerned from its website or to disable access to them".
Stefan Krawczyk, senior director and counsel government relations, eBay Europe, said: "The judgment provides some clarity on certain issues, and ensures that all brands can be traded online in Europe."
A spokesman for L'Oreal described the ruling as "a step towards effectively combating the sale of counterfeiting brands and products via the internet". He added: "This decision is in line with the position L'Oréal has taken for several years and is applicable in courts throughout the European Union."
by Rebecca Smithers taken from http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2011/jul/12/ebay-marketplace-sites-trademark-abuse-loreal
No comments:
Post a Comment