eBay ordered to block fake Rolex sales

Published in: eLaw & Management
Date: Wed 25 April 2007
Category: Litigation
Issue No: 1180


Germany's highest judicial court has ruled that the German branch of the Internet auctioneer eBay must try to prevent attempts to sell fake Rolex watches on its Web site.

According to a report on the IoL site, the Swiss luxury brand took eBay to court after a number of fake Rolex watches were offered for sale on the site between June 2000 and January 2001. The court in Karslruhe in south-western Germany said that eBay was obliged to withdraw purported offers of Rolex watches immediately if there was reason to suspect that they were counterfeit, or if it was alerted to the fact by Rolex. The starting price for genuine second-hand Rolex watches offered on eBay is around 1 000.