eBay gets sued by Louis Vuitton

Macias Counsel, Inc. Sues Louis Vuitton and Christian Dior for Malicious Conduct in Santee Alley "Knock-Offs" Case Last update: 6:46 p.m. EDT Aug. 14, 2008 LOS ANGELES, CA, Aug 14, 2008 (MARKET WIRE via COMTEX) -- A malicious prosecution lawsuit against Louis Vuitton and Christian Dior was filed today by downtown Los Angeles shop owners George and Marijeanne Antounian, charging the companies and their attorneys with bringing an unlawful lawsuit against them for selling knock-off products (Antounians v. Louis Vuitton et al, Los Angeles County Superior Court, Case No. BC396340). The malicious prosecution suit alleges that Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, and their respective lawyers knew the allegations of copyright and trademark infringement were not true but continued with the litigation, ultimately forcing the shop to close and the owners to liquidate their inventory. Louis Vuitton and Christian Dior hired a private investigation company, Investigative Consultants, in 2005 to determine whether stores on Santee Alley in downtown Los Angeles were selling counterfeit Louis Vuitton and Christian Dior wallets, purses and other goods. After nearly two years of investigations, the suit alleges Investigative Consultants wrongfully concluded that the Antounians, owners of the Bijou Palace at 1116 Santee Alley, sold fake Louis Vuitton and Christian Dior products. An investigation video showed the counterfeit transactions occurring at adjacent stores and in the alley itself but not at Bijou Palace. "The Antounians' store, Bijou Palace, sold only costume jewelry and was not in the business of selling purses and wallets," says Sean Macias, managing partner of Macias Counsel, Inc. in Glendale and lead attorney representing the Antounians. William Salle, co-counsel for the Antounians, says a member of the investigation team, Arianna Ortiz, admitted she provided false testimony in identifying Bijou Palace as one of the stores selling knockoff products. "Ortiz alerted Kris Buckner, president of Investigative Consultants, and lead counsel Janine Garguilo for Louis Vuitton and Christian Dior, of the errors in the investigation reports months before trial, but legal action still proceeded against the Antounians," says William Salle. During trial in July 2007, Investigator Buckner testified that he never saw handbags, wallets or sunglasses or any Louis Vuitton or Dior items for sale at Bijou Palace. "These were the same items that the Antounians and Bijou Palace were to have allegedly sold," says Salle. "We understand the plight of companies as they try to protect their brand from counterfeiters," says Macias, "but doing as they did in this case is unjustifiable. Maybe they wanted to send a message to would-be counterfeiters that they mean business. Instead, Louis Vuitton and Christian Dior succeeded only in destroying a small business." Co-counsel representing George and Marijeanne Antounian is also Armen Shaghzo of the law firm Shaghzo and Shaghzo. Contacts: Sean Macias, Esq. Macias Counsel, Inc. 425 East Colorado Blvd. Suite 710 Glendale, California 91205 Tel: (818) 265-0025 Fax: (818) 265-0035 Email Contact Diane Rumbaugh Rumbaugh Public Relations Tel: (805) 493-2877 Email Contact

If this action is in any way successful then who's next? Nike? Adidas? Chanel? How big a list do you want?

eBay should have addressed it's policing issues before now. If they ignore this time bomb much longer they will be volunteering for more regulation than you can shake a stick at.

Graham

'Should eBay be held responsible for all the commerce atrocities that happen daily at the online auction giant?'

It is beyond comprehension that ebay still expect their customer (the sellers) to police the site and continue to hide behind the 'we are only a venue' excuse.

There are so many scams, frauds and fakes on the site that it is totally unrealistic to rely on an, at best, haphazard method of 'policing'.

Particularly in relation to scams which invariably reappear on the site almost as soon as their listings are taken down.

The counterfeit goods are never what you see in the picture, that could even be lifted from the right's holder's own catalogue, they are massed produced, cheap, shoddy items.

Ebay needs to wake up big style as an increasing proportion of the high value goods on the site are fradulent in one way or another, either fake goods or scammers who will, by tomorrow, have all your id details if you bid on their auctions.

Any way round, the chance of being ripped off is becoming odds on if you're looking for luxury goods.

Your readers may be interested in the following information, taken from http://www.eveningnews24.co.uk/content/News/story.aspx?brand=ENOnline&category=News&tBrand=enonline&tCategory=news&itemid=NOED20%20Sep%202006%2011%3A40%3A57%3A640


'I was conned by eBay thief
A warning has been issued to online auctioneers by a trader who was ripped off by a sophisticated e-scam. Ronald Thetford thought he would be safe using a specifically designed payment system on online auction site eBay, only for him to find out that he had been sent faked messages.'
20 September 2006


Have you lost money as a result of an online scam? Email kim.briscoe@archant.co.uk or call her on (01603) 772419.

That;s a United Kingdom phone number.

What is most depressing too me is that if any of these online giants don't do something about their safety problems, I fear we are simply opening a door for government control which is not something buyers, sellers, nor investors would want.

It's about time something was done about fake brand names on eBay. Good for LV! eBay has become the 'in' place for far too many sellers to replicate their carboot or market stall online.

Interestingly enough, I was astounded that Chanel don't take this as seriously. I contacted their VERO holder about a seller who was keyword spamming their name (alongside Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Prada etc) in hidden html on their eBay listings. This was 7 days ago and I have heard nothing since. The seller is selling generic beaded necklaces and is fraudulently claiming the necklaces to be the genuine article (of some 10 or so high market brands collectively).

http://tinyurl.com/rj6x3

This is the hidden spam in each listing:
Jessica Simpson Ashley Simpson Gwen Stefani Lindsay Lohan Paris Hilton Sienna Miller Kate Moss Nikki Hilton Girls Aloud Gucci Tiffany Louis Vuitton Juicy Couture Dior Banana Republic Hollywood dsquared Prada Chloe Chanel Von Dutch Burburry Calvin Klein Ralph Lauren Christian Dior abercrombie Lacoste diesel bebe bcbg pinstripe cardigans faux fur bohemian boho hippie hippy gypsy chic

Just one of many fraudsters cluttering up eBays core listings. It's high time Trust and Safety stood up and listened to their sellers who hate to be associated with the scam artists. eBay has long been synonymous with fakes and frauds.

EBay is not responsible for counterfeit or other items sold on their site. EBay is an auction venue. They are only the tool on which to list items. The person or company listing the counterfeit item or items should be sued, not eBay. EBay cannot guarantee every item listed to be free of defect, fraud, counterfeit etc. They are not a store. The seller or lister of the item is responsible for the authenticity of that item or listing. Counterfeit items are sold all over the world in the billions, every auction site world wide has them. Every venue possible is used to sell knock-offs, etc. It cannot be stopped. They sell counterfeit knock-offs on every street corner. It's part of doing business. It is Viton's responsibility to go after the people that sell the knock-offs. It is not eBay's job or anyone else's job to insure, patrol, or oversee that their trademark is safe. If I were eBay I would make sure they pay all court costs and lawyer costs involved. I would not want eBay share holders suffering because of this stupid lawsuit that has no merrit....

Tiffany sued eBay in 2004 for profiting from all of the counterfeit Tiffany products being sold on the site.

In addition to damages, the suit claims eBay is responsible for self-policing to prevent fraudulent items from being listed. eBay says it's not their problem (the old "we're just a venue" excuse), and besides, it can't possibly be expected to monitor itself because it's simply too big.

The case should be coming to trial by the end of this year or the beginning of 2007, according to eBay's most recent 10Q filing.

In the past, eBay has relied on the safe harbor afforded by the Digital Millenium Copyright Act to successfully defend itself against similar lawsuits. The DMCA protects websites from claims of copyright infringement as long as the offending items are removed when the company is notified - thus, eBay's VERO program.

Tiffany's attorneys have taken a different approach - they sued for trademark abuse, which isn't protected under the DMCA.

The case is expected to set legal precedent - if Tiffany prevails, every other company who suffers from counterfeited goods sold on eBay will file similar brand-damage suits.

Meg Whitman has been quoted as being "disappointed" by the lawsuit. (I'll bet.)
http://tinyurl.com/k6ny5

According to an E-Commerce Times article summarizing the Tiffany case, international law is even more favorable to brand owners, which doesn't bode well for eBay in a fight against Vuitton.
http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/48608.html

This is a problem which has been due to surface for a long time now.
It's long past time that ebay recognise that policing the site cannot be down to the users, but HAS to be (ultimately) down to themselves.
As members we are actively encouraged to police the site , but all too frequently we are then told that ebay cannot remove listings "just on the say-so of the members" , and that the VERO holders have to confirm the fraudulent listing.(chicken and egg ? no win situation? )

So now it's finally happening with a vengeance! Why has it taken so long !

About time.

This could potentially open the floodgates should LV's case prove successful. For far too long Ebay have given the 'we're just a venue' excuse, whilst profiting from the sale of illegal goods. Car boot sales and markets are faced with closure if their traders are dodgy, so why should Ebay be any different?

One aspect that Ebay should reconsider is their obsession with pandering to the Far East market. Since Ebay have offered free listings to China there has been no end of fake goods which have swamped Ebay. It may look good for their listing figures, but if the lawsuits start rolling in...

ANOTHER SCAMMER USES THE CHEAP LISTING DAY ON EBAY UK TO AUCTION FAKES...

A watch maker has just pointed out this 1 day listing scammer on the ps forum who has handily enough taken advantage of the cheap listing day.

The watches are fake:

Item no 110035583339 price should be £80 not £30 BIN
Item no 110035590604 price should be £100 not £36 BIN

The sellers recent feedback is sufficiently old to not know where it originates from. However, 3 out of 24 are no longer registered with eBay and 1 seller he bought from has the suspicious user id of 1p_auctions.

Now I see what is happening. Feedback and the linking item details remain visible for 3 months. Outside of this window, the item hyperlinks can no longer be viewed. Only the feedback comments remain.

I suggest that this fraudster has left his account dormant for sufficient time as to remove links to the 1p ebooks he has purchased to plump up his feedback score.

Another apple rotten to the core.

I beg to differ with #6. This cop out disclaimer of 'only a venue' has got to stop. Every item listed on eBay generates revenue for this Leviathan. They are profiting from the ill gotten gains of thieves, scammers and fraudsters. I'm waiting for the day when this 'only a venue' get out clause is tested in the Courts.

eBay swindlers notorious for "borrowing" dormant (yet still 'active') accounts to park their scam listings so they can take advantage of their feedback and length of time registered.

If you look at the feedback for the watch "seller", you'll notice that all but one was left by sellers.

On the surface, this appears to be an infrequent buyer's account that won the Jacked For A Day sweepstakes.

Tracy,

You say there's nothing eBay can do? Read this for a couple of suggestions:

www.associatedcontent.com/article/64610/ebay_targeted_for_counterfeits_is_this.html

If other auction sites CAN & DO operate sensible anti-rip off procedures then why not eBay? You may not see it that way but how will a Court see it?

Complicating the issue of fraud is the fact that in some cases (let's say a Seiko watch listing), the merchandise is in fact the genuine article.

It's being sold at a rock-bottom price because it's stolen (which could explain why there's 'no box and no manual').

Seems like not a day goes by without at least one news story pointing out eBay's unwitting use as an online fence. http://tinyurl.com/qfax4

The police routinely advise burglarly victims to scour eBay for their stolen items.

eBay's proprietary software is supposed to flag suspicious listings, but I'd imagine it would be difficult to pinpoint sellers who routinely offer goods at far below retail prices, especially if they're piggybacking them on other people's accounts.

Sorry link should be:

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/64610/ebay_targeted_for_counterfeits_is_this.html

Sorry for the multiple posts - I hit 'enter' too soon.

In the case of the watch listing (110035583339) mentioned in #10, what you have there is a scammer who seems to have the mental agility of Homer Simpson.

The listing includes a box boasting of the seller's glowing ReliableMerchants Rating (an Asian ecommerce site).

Unfortunately, the merchant, "pokemonyu", is touting his reliability on the eBay account of a customer with a completely different user name.

This has been expected for a while, and the attempt by the French Government to broker a deal indicates that there are some serious players involved in this. The fact that a government has been involved gives a hint of conspiracy and corruption somewhere.

It is too easy to set up a false ID as no checks are made whatever, feedback can then be amassed very easily with 1p ebooks, ready to scam an unsuspectig buyer.

Spotting Counterfeits is not that difficult and if the average user can do it, so can eBay staff. Perhaps there time would be better spent dealing with the problems, rather than removing comments in their forums from the people pointing out the problems for them!

As for the poor stockholder, I can see no relief, despite one analyst pushing the stock. I have to wonder if he lives on the same planet, there is no upside to this company that has pushed the self destruct button so hard, it is now jammed, and like eBay itself they can't seem to fix it. This is a DEFINITE SELL (and quickly if you ask me!)

Ebay can no longer claim "Only a venue". That's total bs and everybody knows it. If they are taking money for these auctions for fake merchandise (money to list, and also money when the item sells), doesn't that kinda put the scammers and ebay in bed together? Ebay is so thick with fake merchandise they'd lose a good half of their auction numbers if they got rid of the scams. I'd suppose this is the reason they refuse to do anything about it. Here's an interesting interview Meg gave concerning being sued by Tiffanys, and I'm sure we'll see something similar forthcoming concerning Vuitton.

Also, looking at this from an ebay buyer and seller point of view with all the problems going on for us, I think Meg is a little confused about her point of view, which from day to day contradicts. Plus, I see more "ebay math" going on!

And for the investors, ebay might not be able to get out of this one.

Ebay CEO Comments on Tiffany Lawsuit

Ebay CEO Meg Whitman says the company's business is changing according to a recent Macworld article. Whitman said over 1/3 of eBay sales are now bought at fixed prices (eBay's But it Now feature) and not at auction. She also commented on the recent lawsuit from Tiffany's over fake Tiffany jewelry being auctioned on eBay.
Commenting on the recent decision by jeweller Tiffany & Co. to sue eBay for failing to take adequate steps to prevent fake Tiffany items from being offered on its site, Whitman said eBay had been "disappointed" by the move as the company worked with intellectual property holders to combat the sale of fake goods. "Counterfeit items are not allowed [on our sites]," she said, adding that eBay has focused on the problem of fake items. "We have a number of technical tools to help intellectual property owners identify goods and remove them," she said.

Having customers maintain trust in the eBay service is crucial, she said. The number of transactions resulting in disputes is "less than one hundredth of 1 per cent" and is falling, she said. But the company wants to further reduce that figure. "We will invest in activities to fight the bad guys," she said. Whitman pointed out that the company helps mediate disputes, with customer support representatives getting involved in cases.
eBay may have difficulties removing fake items without increasing costs because of the extra man hours it would take to scrutinize listings. The article also said eBay is not planning any new major acquisitions in 2006 and they believe they will face increasing competition from Google for both eBay and PayPal.

Posted on February 8, 2006

I have just found these two different accounts - catch em quick before they're pulled, a perfect example and if I didn't spot them it would be up to the poor genuine account holder to try and convince ebay he had been hijacked.

http://search.ebay.co.uk/_W0QQsassZmbscott111QQhtZ-1

http://search.ebay.co.uk/_W0QQsassZmbfiremedicyahooQQhtZ-1

I don't know much about computers but aren't there bots you can get to chase these things down?