NEW YORK (AP) – EBay Inc. will pay about $316,500 to Louis Vuitton Malletier for legal costs and damages and stop using Internet search terms the luxury goods maker protested, following a ruling Thursday by the Paris District Court.
The online auction site was found liable for harming the reputation of Louis Vuitton trademarks, the company name and domain name – all held by LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton. EBay spokeswoman Alina Piacentino said the company will appeal the decision.
Ebay had been buying keywords such as “Viton,” “Vitton” and “Wuiton” so that online shoppers using these misspellings into a search engine, along with anyone using the brand’s correct spelling, would be directed to links promoting eBay, a Louis Vuitton spokeswoman said.
The court, which called eBay’s actions “parasitic,” ordered the company to stop using the keywords. The court said the practice harmed Louis Vuitton’s brand.
The online auction house must pay Louis Vuitton euro200,000, or $275,200, in damages plus euro30,000, or $41,300, in legal costs. In a prepared statement, eBay said it was disappointed but noted Louis Vuitton was awarded less than the euro1.2 million, or $1.7 million, it sought.
In the case of any future violations, eBay must pay Louis Vuitton euro1,000, or about $1,400, according to an LVMH spokeswoman.
EBay also said the ruling “flies in the face” of a legal victory against Ralph Lauren in an appeal of a similar case in Belgium.
Shares of eBay rose 17 cents to $22.13 in afternoon trading.
Copyright 2010 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Victorious Youth, also known as the Getty Bronze, from the Hellenistic Period and depicting an athlete crowning himself. Photo taken 2-12-2006 by 3dnatureguy. Image appears courtesy of the photographer through Creative Commons GNU Free Documentation license.
ROME (AP) – An Italian court on Thursday ordered an ancient Greek statue bought by the J. Paul Getty Museum seized so it can be returned to Italy, officials said.
The Los Angeles museum said it would appeal the decision to Italy’s highest court and would “vigorously defend” its right to keep the bronze.
Under Italian law, however, the decision of the Pesaro court is effective immediately, said Maurizio Fiorilli, the attorney representing the Italian government in the case.
Based on the ruling, the Italian Justice Ministry will now ask the U.S. Department of Justice to carry out the confiscation of the statue, he said, urging the Getty to resume negotiations on giving it back.
Victorious Youth, which dates from 300 B.C.-100 B.C., was pulled from the sea by Italian fishermen in 1964 off the eastern town of Fano, near Pesaro.
The Italian government, which has been on an international campaign to reclaim looted antiquities, says it was brought into Italy and then exported illegally.
The Getty maintains Italy has no claim, saying it bought the statue in good faith in 1977 for $4 million.
The statue, nicknamed the “Getty Bronze,” is a signature piece for the museum. Standing about 5 feet (1.52 meters) tall, the statue of a young athlete raising his right hand to an olive wreath crown around his head is one of the few life-sized Greek bronzes to have survived, the Getty says.
Though the artist is unknown, some scholars believe it was made by Lysippos, Alexander the Great’s personal sculptor.
In announcing its appeal, the Getty said Thursday’s ruling was flawed procedurally and substantively, noting that a previous case involving the statue was thrown out after the judge held, among other things, that the statute of limitations had expired.
“In fact, no Italian court has ever found any person guilty of any criminal activity in connection with the export or sale of the statue,” the Getty said in a statement.
Fiorilli, the government lawyer, said that wasn’t what was at stake. The trial, he said, concerned property and whether the Getty carried out due diligence in ascertaining the provenance of the work when buying it.
“The Getty wasn’t on trial. It is just the owner of something that was determined to be Italian,” Fiorilli told The Associated Press. “The piece is Italian and the Getty should return it.”
In recent years Italy has successfully won back artifacts it says were looted or stolen from the country and sold to museums and private collections worldwide.
In 2007, the Getty, without admitting any wrongdoing, agreed to return 40 ancient treasures in exchange for long-term loans of other artifacts. Similar deals have been reached with other museums.
Under the 2007 deal, the two sides agreed to postpone further discussion of Victorious Youth until the court case was decided.
Fiorilli urged the Getty to resume negotiations on returning the piece now that the court has pronounced itself.
If U.S. authorities don’t recognize the Pesaro court’s decision and carry out the confiscation order, he said, the Italian government will bring the case to an American court.
The Culture Ministry hailed Thursday’s ruling with “great satisfaction” and said it hoped it would lead to serious reflection by the Getty about returning the statue.
The bronze is believed to have sunk with the ship that was carrying it to Italy after the Romans conquered Greece. After being found in the nets of Italian fishermen trawling in international waters in 1964, it allegedly was buried in an Italian cabbage patch and hidden in a priest’s bathtub before it was taken out of Italy.
Italy’s efforts to reclaim looted antiquities also has included the criminal prosecution of former Getty curator Marion True and art dealer Robert Hecht, on trial in Rome for allegedly knowingly receiving dozens of archaeological treasures stolen from private collections or dug up illicitly. The two Americans deny wrongdoing.
The most important work to date that Italy has successfully brought back is the Euphronios Krater, one of the finest ancient Greek vases in existence. The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, which bought it for $1 million in 1972 from an art dealer later accused of acquiring looted artifacts, returned it to Italy in 2008.
Copyright 2010 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Nicholas McCullough, newly appointed international consultant for Munich auction house Hermann Historica. Image courtesy Hermann Historica.
MUNICH, GERMANY – Hermann Historica oHG, Munich, has forged a strategic alliance with Bloomsbury Auctions and Dreweatts, London, New York and Rome. Additionally, the firm has enlisted Nick McCullough, former head of Arms & Armour sales at Christie’s, as international consultant.
A respected specialist auction house known for its sales of arms, armor and militaria, Hermann Historica now partners with Bloomsbury Auctions, long known for its expertise in rare books and manuscripts, and Dreweatts, founded in 1759. The alliance will see Hermann Historica establishing a permanent presence in Bloomsbury’s Maddox Street [Mayfair, London] premises as well as a representative office in both New York and Rome. In turn, Dreweatts will establish a branch in Hermann Historica’s Munich gallery with a view to developing a meaningful presence in the German market.
“We have been looking to expand internationally for some time now and this opportunity to grow with the expanding activities of the new Dreweatts & Bloomsbury Auctions alliance is a perfect fit for us, said Hermann Historica’s founder and owner, Wolfgang Hermann. “Like Bloomsbury, we deal with clients at the very pinnacle of our area of specialization, and the quality and location of their London, New York and Rome premises generously expands our options for future sale locations.”
Stephan Ludwig, Dreweatts’ executive chairman, stated: “Hermann Historica are a well respected business trading at the top of their field. It has been our stated goal to expand our alliances to incorporate further complementary fields to our in-house departments, and I look forward to exploring the many potential business opportunities that a presence in the German-speaking European area will afford both Dreweatts and Bloomsbury Auctions.”
Both companies are clear in their message that this is only a strategic commercial trading alliance and that there are no plans to merge the businesses, now or in the future.
News of the new marketing partnership coincides with Hermann Historica’s appointment of Nicholas McCullough as an international consultant. McCullough departed Christie’s last year after many years running the company’s Antique Arms & Armour department internationally. When not traveling, McCullough will be based at the Maddox Street offices.
McCullough has 32 years of professional experience as a specialist valuer and cataloger in the fields of antique arms and armour; militaria and British modern sporting firearms. He bought his first collectible item at the age of 11 and, following service in the British army, this early interest developed into a career path.
Nicholas McCullough joined Bonhams auctioneers in London in 1978 and held his first arms auction in that year. In 1981, Nicholas headed the Arms department at Phillips auctioneers. The following year he left to begin the first of two periods of employment at Christie’s, where he continued in Antique Arms & Armour at Christie’s for a total of eleven years, both in London and New York. Most recently McCullough was Christie’s international senior specialist and head of Arms & Armour sales from 2005 to 2009.
In 1987 McCullough joined Sotheby’s in New York, where he held responsibility for their Antique Arms & Armor auctions until 1998. Within that period Nicholas was also appointed as a consultant specialist to Sotheby’s Arms department in London and additionally headed Sotheby’s Arms sales in Zurich. Subsequently Nicholas McCullough moved with the London department to Sotheby’s offices in West Sussex. From there he was involved in many of the most significant valuations and sales of noble and ancestral armouries from within the German cultural sphere to be conducted in the postwar years. These included the gunroom and armoury of the Princes Thurn und Taxis, the armoury of the Grand-Dukes of Baden, and that of the Royal House of Hanover.
Colorfully painted allegorical scenes enhance this glazed majolica urn, which was made in Italy during the 18th or 19th century. With chips to the base and restoration to the handles, the 31-inch-tall urn has a $3,500-$4,500 estimate. Image courtesy of Auction Gallery of the Palm Beaches Inc.
WEST PALM BEACH – A grand and varied assortment of antiques, art and other valuable estate items will be presented at Auction Gallery of the Palm Beaches on Feb. 15-16. LiveAuctioneers will provide Internet live bidding.
Three of the top items are sterling silver. A Victorian montieth, a large silver punch bowl with a scalloped rim, was made in London in 1892 by John Rawling. The circular bowl is chased with scrolls and flowers on a stepped base, mounted with a detachable “crown” cast with masks and scrolls. The bowl is 13 inches in diameter and has an $8,000-$10,000 estimate.
A late 19th-century Chinese export repousse silver tea and coffee service sold by Tiffany is expected to bring $12,000-$16,000. Each of the seven pieces is covered with a flower head and leaf design. Included are a teapot, coffeepot, tilting kettle with lamp, sugar bowl, creamer, spooner and a service tray.
Considered rare, a set of four George III silver gilt and glass open salts by Paul Storr, London, 1808, has a $3,000-$4,000 estimate. Each circular stand, 4 5/8 inches in diameter, is fitted with a cut glass montieth bowl, engraved with a crest and enclosed by a husk border.
A glazed majolica urn from 18th- or 19th-century Italy, possibly Urbino, is all the more impressive with hand-painted allegorical scenes on the sides. The 31-inch-tall urn has a $3,500-$4,500 estimate.
Three 19th-century Chinese School gouaches, 14 3/4 inches by 19 1/2 inches, showing different stages of pottery making, each has an estimate of $1,500-$2,000.
The second day of the auction features the one-owner African-Oceanic collection from the Estate of Nathan Schneider of Palm Beach Gardens. He collected these pieces over the past 45 years.
Additional items of note are jades and ivory, Meissen, Sevres, Chinese Export and Rose Medallion Porcelains, bronzes, Lalique, fine art from the Wunderlich family (founders of Kennedy Galleries, New York) and a contemporary studio art glass collection from an estate in Boca Raton.
For details call 561-805-7115.
The sales will be conducted at Auction Gallery of the Palm Beaches, 1609 S. Dixie Highway, Suite 5. Monday’s session will begin at 6 p.m. Eastern; Tuesday’s at 5 p.m. Eastern.
View the fully illustrated catalog and sign up to bid absentee or live via the Internet during the sale at www.LiveAuctioneers.com
Made in China for export, this seven-piece repousse silver tea and coffee service is expected to bring $12,000-$16,000. Image courtesy of Auction Gallery of the Palm Beaches Inc. Constantine Kluge (French, 1912-2003) titled this scene ‘Le Theatre Sarah Bernhardt.’ The 24- by 36-inch oil on canvas is in need of cleaning. It has a $7,000-$9,000 estimate. Image courtesy of Auction Gallery of the Palm Beaches Inc. The Print Club of Cleveland’s publication no. 25 was this lithograph titled ‘Switch Engines, Erie Yards, Jersey City’ by Reginald Marsh. The unframed print is 9 inches by 13 1/4 and has a $1,500-$2,000 estimate. Image courtesy of Auction Gallery of the Palm Beaches Inc. French artist Jules Rene Herve’s reputation for shimmering colors comes through in this oil painting titled ‘Bois de Meudon.’ The 23 1/4- by 28 1/2-inch oil on canvas has a $6,000-$8,000 estimate. Image courtesy of Auction Gallery of the Palm Beaches Inc.
