eBay is in some deep trouble!

Yesterday, a French court ordered eBay to pay almost $40 million euros (over $60M US) in damages to Louis Vuitton for allowing the sale of fake LV items.

The court has now stopped eBay from selling four kinds of perfumes, which are Givenchy, Christian Dior, Guerlain, and Kenzo.

They will also not be allowed to sell six LVMH brands.

The court determined that eBay had committed "serious errors" by allowing the sales of fake LVMH goods.

They also said eBay violated the perfume sales distribution network, which was setup by Louis Vuitton and Christian Dior Couture.

Of course, eBay said they are going to launch an appeal, believing the court did not uphold copyright law.

A spokesperson for eBay has said, "This decision is not based on combating counterfeit material. It is based on LVMH's desire to protect its commercial practices and exclude competition. This is being done at the expense of the consumers and sellers to whom eBay is always offering opportunities."

Hmmm. They have a point!

The case, which started a year and a half ago, stated that eBay knowingly allowed the sales of counterfeit products on its site.

The court also issued eBay a cease and desist order preventing it from running ads for the perfume and cosmetic brands. If they don't oblige, they'll face a fine of 50,000 euros per day, over $78K.

Gosh. Why can't they run ads??? That seems a tad excessive, no???

A rep for LVMH says, "It is a major first because of the principles that it recognizes and the amount sought."

What do U think?

Read more at: http://perezhilton.com/2008-07-01-louis-vuitton.