Ebay won an important legal victory today when a French court said the online auction house had sufficient measures in place to prevent sales of counterfeit versions of L’Oreal perfumes.

Ruling against L’Oreal, which sued eBay for being too lax on counterfeits, a Paris judge said the auction site’s existing measures to prevent sales of fakes were sufficient “to fulfill its obligations in good faith”.

The decision is eBay’s maiden victory in a French court after losing similar cases brought by Hermes and LVMH, the luxury goods groups.

It comes as internet groups and consumer brands continue to argue over who is responsible for policing counterfeits in online sales.

Katie Withers, an intellectual property lawyer at law firm Eversheds, said the decision was an important victory for eBay because the French courts are generally considered the most brand-friendly in Europe.

The ruling will not bind courts in other countries, which are free to make their own decisions about eBay’s anti-counterfeiting measures.

But Ms Withers said the decision sends a general message that eBay is meeting its responsibilities on counterfeit goods after satisfying the strictest judges in Europe.

Although the ruling is a boon for eBay, Judge Elisabeth Belfort said the only way to stamp out sales of counterfeits was for the internet industry and brands to work together.

EBay has a team of 2,000 people, including former prosecutors, and spends $10 million a year fighting fakes and other crimes.

Less than 0.2 per cent of the 2.7 billion listings on eBay were identified as potentially counterfeit, the company said in a March report to the EU.

Ebay said: "We are delighted that eBay’s meaningful efforts to fight counterfeits online have been recognised by the court. Today, 99 per cent of all items listed on eBay are genuine products and we continue to work hard to ensure eBay is a safe and trusted place to shop."

"We welcome the invitation to resolve the outstanding matters in an amicable way; we have always believed that cooperation is the best way to fight counterfeits. Ongoing dialogue and collaboration, rather than litigation, is the only way to effectively identify and remove any counterfeit items which do appear on our site.’’

L'Oréal said it was "satisfied" with the outcome of ruling adding that the company was "glad to accept the Court’s decision to judicial mediation, to agree necessary and long-lasting measures to curb counterfeiting."

Lovells' represented eBay. Bird & Bird represented L'Oreal

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