eBay to tackle counterfeiting and piracy

eBay is looking to crack down on counterfeiting and piracy on its website.

Internet auction site eBay has approached the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) to help it tackle the problem of counterfeiting and piracy.

The government body has been asked to work with eBay to encourage intellectual rights owners to report traders found to be selling counterfeit goods, Computeractive reports.

Through its anti-piracy programme, eBay claims it has already removed some two million items from its site and suspended tens of thousands of seller accounts.

However, the auction site has been involved in legal disputes over pirated goods, with L'Oreal filing the most recent lawsuit over an intellectual property issue.

The cosmetics company claims fake versions of its products were being sold on eBay. It began legal proceedings at the high court earlier this month.

It insists that eBay is not doing enough to prevent the sale of counterfeit goods - something the auction site contests.

Indeed, it states that its efforts - through the Verified Rights Owner Programme (VERO) - prove that it is serious about tackling counterfeiting.

Rather than taking legal action, eBay is urging companies like L'Oreal to work with it and sign up to the VERO, which already has 31,000 members

"Collaboration is key," said eBay spokesperson Nicola Sharpe. "We aren't the experts and need to partner with rights owners."

According to Computeractive, the company insisted pirated products are "bad for sellers, buyers and rights owners".

"We hope by getting more members onboard we will be able to make it easier for consumers to buy without worrying about counterfeit goods" it stated.

Meanwhile, a man from Edinburgh who was found guilty of selling non-existent holidays on eBay by copying genuine advertisements has been jailed for 14 months.