I deal a lot in my day with websites and/or people that are dealing with fake goods. It's through these fake goods too that people are being scammed over and over, either by not receiving any items ordered or by thinking they were actually going to receive the genuine article.
So I do get a sense of perverse pleasure in reading things like this.
PARIS court has ordered online auction site eBay to pay €40 million ($65.8 million) in damages to Louis Vuitton for selling fake luxury goods online.
The commercial court ruled in favour of six LVMH brands that accused eBay of putting on sale fake handbags, clothes and other luxury goods, and of illicit sales of perfumes, in a case that began a year and a half ago.eBay, the world's biggest online auctioneer, was ordered to pay €19.28 million ($31.72 million) to LVMH and €17.3 million ($28.46 million) to its sister company Christian Dior Couture for damage to their brand images and causing moral harm.
It must also pay €3.25 million ($5.35 million) to four perfume brands - Christian Dior, Kenzo, Givenchy and Guerlain - for sales in violation of its authorised network.
The court barred eBay, which said it would appeal against the ruling, from advertising the cosmetic or perfume brands on its website.
LVMH had argued eBay had failed to do enough to prevent the sale of counterfeit copies of their goods and that it did not have legal permission to sell its authentic products.
The ruling came amid a flurry of legal action against the online giant, which claims to have some 84 million active users in 39 markets worldwide.
Earlier this month, eBay was convicted by a French court of selling counterfeit goods and ordered to pay €20,000 ($32,900) in damages to French luxury group Hermes.
The court ruling, which marked a first in France, found eBay directly responsible for the sale on its website of three Hermes bags including two fakes, for a total of €3000 ($4935).
France's traditional auctioneers took legal action against the online auctioneer in December, accusing it of encouraging trade in pirated and stolen goods.
A council representing the auction industry also accuses the Internet trader of breaking a French 2000 law that requires all auctioneers to be approved by the state.
According to eBay the total value of items sold on its trading platforms in 2007 was nearly $US60 billion ($62.5 billion).