For years L’Oreal has been fighting against eBay regarding the sale of counterfeit perfumes and testers through this electronic marketplace. L’Oreal has initiated proceedings against eBay in several different countries, including England. The cosmetics company wants to hold eBay liable for (facilitating) the sale of infringing perfumes and other cosmetic products. Also, L’Oreal is of the opinion that eBay may not use the L’Oreal trademarks in advertisements on her own websites or via Google (Adwords). The English court has referred several questions to the European Court of Justice (the highest court in Europe), which have been answered on 12 July 2011.
The ECJ makes clear that the sale of testers, designated for demonstration to customers, should almost always be regarded as trademark infringement. These testers have never been put on the European market and therefore the trademark rights have not been exhausted.
The trademark owner, in this case L’Oréal, may prohibit eBay to advertise via Google (with Adwords) if it is not clear to the average consumer from the advertisement whether there is a link between the advertiser and the trademark owner. This criterion follows from the Google France decision.
Furthermore, from the judgement it appears that the exclusion of liability for intermediaries could also apply to electronic marketplaces like eBay (article 14 E-commerce Directive) if eBay plays a neutral role. Then the normal rules apply: if an intermediary has knowledge of illegal facts or circumstances it must act promptly to remove this information. If eBay plays an active role by which it has knowledge of or control over stored data, eBay cannot rely on this liability exclusion. eBay plays an active role if she helps users of the marketplace to optimise the way sales offers will be displayed or helps promoting sales. It is up to the national court to determine whether eBay plays an active or a neutral role.
The ECJ also finds that in some instances eBay must take measures to prevent that new infringements take place. According to the ECJ, national courts may order these measures. These may however not include the active checking of customer details or a permanent ban to sell products of a particular brand on eBay. The measures must be effective, proportionate and dissuasive and may not create barriers to legitimate trade.
Read the decision here.
Eva Rog - den Ouden
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For years L’Oreal has been fighting against eBay regarding the sale of counterfeit perfumes and testers through this electronic marketplace. L’Oreal has initiated proceedings against eBay in several different countries, including England. The cosmetics company wants to hold eBay liable for (facilitating) the sale of infringing perfumes and other cosmetic products. Also, L’Oreal is of the opinion that eBay may not use the L’Oreal trademarks in advertisements on her own websites or via Google (Adwords). The English court has referred several questions to the European Court of Justice (the highest court in Europe), which have been answered on 12 July 2011.
The ECJ makes clear that the sale of testers, designated for demonstration to customers, should almost always be regarded as trademark infringement. These testers have never been put on the European market and therefore the trademark rights have not been exhausted.
The trademark owner, in this case L’Oréal, may prohibit eBay to advertise via Google (with Adwords) if it is not clear to the average consumer from the advertisement whether there is a link between the advertiser and the trademark owner. This criterion follows from the Google France decision.
Furthermore, from the judgement it appears that the exclusion of liability for intermediaries could also apply to electronic marketplaces like eBay (article 14 E-commerce Directive) if eBay plays a neutral role. Then the normal rules apply: if an intermediary has knowledge of illegal facts or circumstances it must act promptly to remove this information. If eBay plays an active role by which it has knowledge of or control over stored data, eBay cannot rely on this liability exclusion. eBay plays an active role if she helps users of the marketplace to optimise the way sales offers will be displayed or helps promoting sales. It is up to the national court to determine whether eBay plays an active or a neutral role.
The ECJ also finds that in some instances eBay must take measures to prevent that new infringements take place. According to the ECJ, national courts may order these measures. These may however not include the active checking of customer details or a permanent ban to sell products of a particular brand on eBay. The measures must be effective, proportionate and dissuasive and may not create barriers to legitimate trade.
Read the decision here.
Eva Rog - den Ouden