Alibaba have launched The Intellectual Property Joint-Force System to fight counterfeits.
China is rife with imitation and fake goods, even to the extent that tons of electrical goods shipped to the west each year appear to have the Conformité Européene Mark (CE Mark), but in fact the Chinese manufacturers will helpfully explain that it doesn’t look the same as a CE Mark and simply stands for “China Export”.
Chinese consumers don’t want the tat their companies are willing to sell the West however, they want genuine authentic goods and they’re willing to pay for them. Now brands participating in the new Intellectual Property Joint-Force System, which covers both Tmall and Taobao, will get a dedicated online portal and account manager to help stamp out counterfeits infringing their IP. The portal will allow brands to confirm potential IP violations found by Alibaba as part of its regular monitoring efforts, after which the company will remove the offending products.
Alibaba will alertbrands to suspicious listings that it is unable to verify on its own. Brands can then notify Alibaba of those products that violate their intellectual property rights, at which point Alibaba immediately removes the listings as it would for any “good faith” takedown request.
180 companies are already signed up to Alibaba’s Intellectual Property Joint-Force System, including Apple, Adidas, Procter & Gamble and Philips and Mars
