On 22nd May 2009, the High Court in London made a number of decisions in relation to a case involving eBay and L\'Oréal. The Court ruled in favour of eBay on the question of joint liability for the actions of a number of sellers that were named as co-defendants and it referred a number of questions to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) for consideration and clarification. These questions concerned: the rights of trademark holders vis-à-vis internet sites, in particular relating to sale of testers and dramming bottles; sale of perfumes and cosmetics when boxes have been removed; and, eBay\'s Paid Search Practices and use of signs on its sites.

Subsequent to the questions being referred to the CJEU, "observations" by the parties, the European Commission and a number of Member States, were submitted to the Court in 2009 and a hearing took place in June 2010. On 9th December 2010, the CJEU\'s Advocate-General presented his opinion as to how the Court should answer the questions referred to it. Following the ruling of the 12th July 2011 by the CJEU, the case will return to the High Court in England for a short trial and ruling.

In response to the ruling by the CJEU, Stefan Krawczyk, Senior Director and Counsel Government Relations, eBay Europe said: "The judgment provides some clarity on certain issues, and ensures that all brands can be traded online in Europe. As a marketplace, eBay provides a level playing field for all online sellers and will continue building constructive partnerships to expand the range of brands being sold on eBay."

The L\'Oréal vs. eBay case was launched as of 2007, when L\'Oréal (and sub-brands) filed related lawsuits against eBay in Belgium, France, Spain and the United Kingdom. eBay won the Belgian (12th August 2008), the French (13th May 2009) and the UK (22nd May 2009) cases.