Bloomberg is reporting that a French Appeals Court reduced the fines eBay must pay in a counterfeits case involving LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA. The original ruling in June 2008 required eBay to pay almost 40 million euros to LVMH for "negligence" and "illicit sales" over the sale of counterfeit goods on its online auction site.

The two companies had issued press releases after the original ruling: the designer said eBay allowed the sale of counterfeit goods on its website and had not taken the necessary measures to prevent the sale of the counterfeit goods on its site, while eBay said it swiftly removed counterfeits and said LVMH wished to protect "uncompetitive commercial practices at the expense of consumer choice and the livelihood of law-abiding sellers that eBay empowers everyday."