Beijing court sentences counterfeit merchant

BEIJING -- A court in Beijing sentenced a merchant to pay one million yuan (about $143,000) in damages to JD.com, a Chinese e-commerce giant, for selling counterfeit cosmetics online, the court said on Monday.

This was the first case of its kind handled by a Beijing court, according to the court in the Daxing District in the Chinese capital.

The merchant signed an online service deal with JD.com, opening a store on the online e-commerce platform to sell cosmetics of a well-known brand. It was found that the cosmetics sold were counterfeit products after a random inspection by JD.com, the court said.

JD.com later closed the shop and demanded it pay damages.

The Daxing District court found that the merchant's act of selling counterfeit products violated its contract agreement with JD.com, the platform rules, as well as laws and business ethics. The e-commerce platform, accordingly, has to pay a high cost to maintain its reputation, normal operations, and management, according to the court.