EBay, the internet auction site, has won a significant battle in the war over the sale of luxury goods on its site.

A US court has ruled that Tiffany & Co, the world-famous jewellers, failed to prove the online auctioneer was responsible for the sale of fake Tiffany jewellery on its website.

The ruling could play a key role in deciding the ground rules for doing business over the Internet in future.

Earlier this month, Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH), the French luxury goods maker, won €40 million (£31.5 million) in a case against eBay for selling counterfeit goods. The internet site was also told by the French court that it cannot allow sales of four LVMH perfumes, even if they are genuine.

It also emerged that Maclaren and Bugaboo, which together supply over a third of the pushchairs sold in the UK, are trying to stop new pushchairs being sold through eBay.

Tiffany alleged that eBay turned a blind eye to the sale of fake Tiffany silver jewelry on its site, and claimed that its employees found 73 per cent of “Tiffany” silver jewellery pieces bought on eBay were counterfeit. EBay said the jeweler chose not to participate in eBay programs that help brand owners prevent fraud.

US District Judge Richard Sullivan said: “Given Tiffany’s choice to sue eBay, rather than individual sellers, and this court’s conclusion that eBay does not continue to supply its services to those whom it knows or has reason to know are infringing Tiffany’s trademarks, Tiffany’s claims against eBay must fail.”

California-based eBay says it takes down more than 90 per cent of fraudulent goods on its site within four hours of their posting.

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