Hikvision: Liability online marketplace

Hikvision claims that it has not permitted the sale of these products in the European Union (as these products are sold at a higher price there). With an EU trademark registration, a company has the right to be the first to sell its products in the European Union at a price to be determined by itself.

The online marketplace claims not to be liable for the infringement of this right. A Chinese seller offers these products and posts the online ad with the photos, so that the actual seller. A platform/online marketplace can rightly rely on this as long as it is just the hosting provider (i.e. the website merely displays the information, the products are offered by a third party and the page is immediately removed if notified of an infringement).

However, in the proceedings before the Court and in the general terms and conditions, the online marketplace states that it enters into a purchase agreement with the consumer itself. The online marketplace is therefore liable in this case. A ban is ordered on the sale of the HIKVISION products and the marketplace must give disclosure of the amount of product sold.