Auction giant EBay's role as an intermediary between buyers and sellers got a vote of confidence from the most unlikely source on Wednesday: France. French courts have been amongst the most rigorous at pursuing complaints from luxury goods companies which alleged that eBay hadn't done enough to stop the sale of counterfeit goods on their website, handing a landmark victory to LVMH and Hermes last year. However, now in a case filed by beauty house L'Oreal, the French court ruled in favor of eBay, conceding it had already taken measures to improve its practices. And if tough-to-please France is convinced, others could soon follow. "It's significant in that it's one of the first cases we have seen that reversed the direction of the trend where EBay was being held responsible for fakes," said Heath Terry, senior internet analyst at FBR Capital Markets in New York. "It's a sign that the pendulum has at least swung towards the middle."