Amazon could be held responsible for third-party trade mark misuses in the wake of a European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruling.
A case was brought by French luxury shoemaker Christian Louboutin after the company accused Amazon of breaching its trade mark by hosting advertisements from third-party sellers.
The case was referred to the ECJ by lower courts in Belgium and Luxembourg seeking clarity and advice on the matter.
The ECJ agreed with Louboutin’s point that buyers would not be able to tell if the goods were being sold by Amazon or a third party.
Amazon offers its own products alongside third-party sellers, making it difficult to distinguish who a buyer is purchasing an item from.
"Amazon itself makes use of the sign registered by Louboutin where the user of its site has the impression that it is Amazon which is marketing, in its name and on its behalf, shoes of the trademark," said an ECJ press statement.
However, the legal opinion of the ECJ does not reflect the outcome of the case, which is still to be decided by the lower courts, although the opinion is now binding on national courts in the European Union.