(Recasts with L'Oreal setback in court, adds eBay comment, details)
PARIS, May 13 (Reuters) - A Paris court on Wednesday rejected L'Oreal's claim that eBay was liable for selling counterfeited goods, saying the online auctioneer had met its obligations to fight such trading.
The court said the two companies had accepted legal mediation to work together and scheduled a hearing on their progress for May 25.
Citing a European directive transposed into French law, the Paris court recognised that eBay was a retail host but bore limited responsibility.
It added that eBay had "fulfilled its obligations in good faith."
"The decision is a victory for eBay and for consumers," said Alexander von Schirmeister, head of eBay in France.
"We are very happy that eBay's major efforts to fight counterfeiting are recognized by the court as well as our status as host."
For its part, L'Oreal said in a statement that the court had recognized that the fight against counterfeiting on eBay's platform regarding cosmetics and perfumes faced some difficulties.
The court's decision comes after luxury goods groups LVMH and Hermes won rulings in the French courts suggesting eBay should have done more to prevent counterfeits from being sold on its website.
L'Oreal, which owns brands Lancome and Yves Saint Laurent Beaute, lost a counterfeiting case against eBay in Belgium, which it is appealing, but won two cases in Germany that involved fake perfumes and products without any wrapping. (Reporting by Pascal Denise and Thiers Level, writing by Astrid Wendlandt; editing by Mike Nesbit, Gary Hill)