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Online auction firm eBay has been fined by a French court which ruled it did not do enough to halt the sale of counterfeit versions of famous fashion brands.
The firm was ordered to pay £31.5 million to Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy (LVMH), which owns names such as Louis Vuitton and Christian Dior.
According to AFP the court found eBay comitted "serious errors" by allowing the sale of fake LVMH items.
Quoted by the agency, an eBay spokesman reacted by saying: "This decision is not based on combating counterfeit material. It is based on LVMH's desire to protect its commercial practices and exclude competition."
LVMH welcomed the verdict by saying it was a key moment in the fight against the sale of illegal items on the web.
The online auction firm is expected to appeal the decision and also said it already spends $20m (£10m) a year worldwide while trying to identify fraudulent goods, according to the Independent.
