AFP

Paris, Dec 4: France's auction houses said on Monday that they are taking joint legal action against the online giant e-Bay, accusing it of encouraging trade in pirated and stolen goods.

The council representing the French auction industry accuses the Internet trader of breaking a French law, passed in 2000, which requires all auctioneers to be approved by the state.

"Above and beyond the unfair competition," it said, e-Bay's situation "is leading to a rising number of goods being auctioned without regard for the law on public sales."

The council accused e-Bay of failing to uphold rules designed to protect consumers and combat tax evasion and the trade of counterfeit and stolen goods.

e-Bay issued a statement rejecting the lawsuit as "totally unfounded", saying it was not concerned by the law in question.

"e-Bay's activities and those of the auctioneers are totally separate, as stated by the law, and as we have regularly reminded the council since e-Bay started trading in France," it said.

A spokesman for the online giant said that the website acted as an "auction broker" that "facilitates meetings between buyers and sellers" and that its activities "do not constitute a public auction."

Last month, the French council took similar legal action against an online car auctioneer, Exlinea, which it claimed was operating without state approval.