The China-based Internet giant Alibaba reports that it supported successful actions against a total of 492 counterfeit syndicates in China, January to September 2019. The activities were carried out in cooperation with Chinese law enforcement authorities and have resulted in the arrest of almost 700 suspects. This was now announced by Alibaba’s Senior Vice President Michael Yao at a conference of the Alibaba Anti-Counterfeiting Alliance (AACA).
Yao particularly highlighted the strong growth of Alibaba’s Anti-Counterfeiting Alliance (AACA). Currently, the AACA has 155 members representing 450 brands from twelve different industries. Most members now are from Europe (34%), followed by North America (31%).
To defend the intellectual property rights of its AACA members, Alibaba not only carries out reactive measures. They also proactively monitor sales offers, employing artificial intelligence and other highly developed technologies. “We have made significant progress, and there is much more to come”, Yao said. Over the next six months, for example, an AACA User Center is to go live. This online portal would allow users to contact Alibaba’s IP protection teams, submit information about potential counterfeits, or access information material. Alibaba is often heavily criticised for counterfeiters using the group’s marketplace platforms to sell counterfeit products. Consequently, Alibaba has been listed several times already on the Notorious Markets List of the US Trade Representative (USTR).
