Shout It Loud

L’Oreal, the consumer juggernaut has again taken it upon themselves to engage with Ebay over the issue of unauthorised selling of products via their site. L’Oreal fears that the goods on offer may be fake, which could have very damaging effects on their brand image. The items for sale on Ebay could also have been sources from some place other that Europe and therefore would neccarily comply to the required controls and taxes. This issue particularly an issue for L’Oreal’s perfume shop section

This is not the first time these companies have locked horns. L’oreal does not have a great track record against Ebay, with the later being victorious in most previous battles. Belgium was the last place that L’Oreal took on Ebay and they subsequently lost that battle.

The nature of Ebay’s functioned as been brought into question by other companies who feel it is open to easy abuse. Names such as Apple, Adidas and Rolex have also seen a problem with Ebay’s seemingly relaxed attitude to uncontrollable selling of goods and court action has been faced before by the interactive trading site.

The major problem that the courts face is that there are already inconsistencies in how they have dealt with previous contentions from companies against Ebay. The approach that the courts take on contentions such as this, by judging each case on its unique characteristics will inhibit the creation of any standard procedure and will ensure that more cases of a similar nature will likely be brought against Ebay in future.

The basis for L’Oreals argument rests on trademark infringement and the French company will be seeking action in London’s High Court. Among the products that L’Oreal will cite are Lipstick, perfume samples, hair products and eye makeup. There is an argument that Ebay helps brands with their visibility and that more sales can be achieved by utilising the online phenomenon. This is an avenue that Ebay is likely to highlight in court.