Alibaba to combat product counterfeiting and piracy
Alibaba Group has become the first e-commerce company to join the International AntiCounterfeiting Coalition (IACC) – the world’s largest non-profit organization dedicated to combating product counterfeiting and piracy. “Preserving the integrity of Alibaba’s marketplaces is a top priority. Counterfeiting is a global, industry-wide issue, and effective collaboration with brands, retailers, trade associations, governments and other industry partners is a key component to our overall success,” said Matthew Bassiur, Vice President and Head of Global IP Enforcement at Alibaba Group.
“IACC membership will further enhance our earnest efforts to forge closer relationships with brands as we continue to explore and implement innovative solutions to address counterfeiting. We strongly value our partnership with the IACC and its members and are proud to be a part of this prestigious coalition.”
“We are thrilled to welcome Alibaba Group as the first e-commerce company to join the IACC and take advantage of our new General Member category. With the pace at which the market is moving, the successful e-commerce platforms will be those who build the right strategic partnerships to ensure safe and trusted marketplaces. We encourage more industry players to join in our efforts,” said Bob Barchiesi, President of the International AntiCounterfeiting Coalition.
“Alibaba has consistently shown an unparalleled level of commitment over the years towards working with us and our members on IP protection and anti-counterfeiting matters. Having Alibaba as a member will help enrich the ongoing dialogue among IACC members, and enable us to come up with better ways to tackle counterfeiting worldwide.”
Alibaba Group and the IACC’s partnership began in 2013 with the development of the IACC MarketSafe® Program, a strategic collaboration to help IACC members identify and take down infringing listings on Alibaba’s Taobao and Tmall marketplaces via an expedited removal procedure. Since its launch, the initiative has resulted in a 100% take-down rate when companies stand behind their claims; nearly 5,000 sellers’ store fronts have been closed for selling infringing products and permanently banned from the Taobao and Tmall platforms; and more than 160,000 infringing product listings have been removed.
Now, as an official member of the IACC, Alibaba will have access to a global network of more than 250 brands and other IP experts working to develop and implement collaborative solutions to online counterfeiting and piracy. Alibaba will also be able to learn from and contribute to constructive discussions through IACC’s Member Engagement Groups on growing counterfeiting trends and IP best practices with other committed industry members.
