Posted By:
bruce Dorskind
PPR threatens to sue Ebay over fake goods
By Adam Jones in Paris-Financial Times August 31, 2007
PPR, the French conglomerate that owns Gucci, Bottega Veneta and several other luxury goods brands, is threatening legal action against Ebay if the online auction site does not crack down further on counterfeits sold on its website.
In an interview with the Financial Times, François-Henri Pinault, PPR’s chairman and chief executive, said that his company had been in talks with Ebay for several months in an attempt to improve the policing of fakes sold by the site’s members.
“We have signalled to Ebay that if their practices related to our products continues, we envisage taking legal action. We are in the process of talking to them about what they should do to avoid this.” He said it was up to Ebay to verify whether branded products sold by its members were authentic. “They can’t let people trick others by selling counterfeits on Ebay.”
Ebay declined to comment Friday. If it did take the matter to court, PPR would be following in the footsteps of LVMH, its great rival in luxury goods, which sued Ebay in France over the circulation of fake Louis Vuitton products last year. Tiffany, the jeweller, has also sued Ebay.