Chinese online commerce giant Alibaba Group has hosted an inaugural Rights Holders Collaboration Summit involving international brands and the intellectual property (IP) enforcement community to enhance collaboration in the fight against infringements.
More than 100 Chinese and international brands as well as trade associations attended the event, including Adidas, Apple, Burberry, Hewlett Packard, Louis Vuitton and Mars, the Chinese British Business Council (CBBC) and the Quality Brand Protection Committee (QBPC).
Alibaba also announced the launch of the IP Joint-Force System, an online platform designed to streamline IP-related communications between the group and brands. The system aims to build a more collaborative working relationships with international brands as Alibaba continues its fight against counterfeits and IP infringement.
New challenges
With eCommerce becoming a way of life and the internet sector continues to evolve, brands and online marketplaces alike face new IP enforcement challenges, says Alibaba Group chief platform governance officer Jessie Zheng.
“As the leading online marketplace, we have a responsibility to all our constituents to govern our platform and find innovative solutions. The Rights Holders Collaboration Summit and IP Joint-Force System are a couple of the many ways Alibaba is working closely with rights holders in our efforts to eradicate counterfeits both online and offline.”
All brands in the “Good Faith Takedown” program are eligible for the IP Joint-Force System, which came into effect this month. This Alibaba program was launched last year to expedite the notice-takedown process for brands that submit valid counterfeit complaints. Many of the more than 700 brands involved in the program are participating in the first phase of the IP Joint-Force System, including Adidas, Apple, Mars, Philips and Procter & Gamble.
With more than a billion products listed across its marketplaces at any given time, Alibaba Group’s data analytics and processing technologies enabled it to remove more than 120 million infringing product listings last year, which is eight times the number of counterfeit products removed based on takedown requests from brands.
Dedicated support
For the IP Joint-Force System, each participating brand is assigned a dedicated online portal and Alibaba account manager to enhance collaboration, heighten transparency around IP enforcement efforts, and reinforce mutual understanding and trust. The system enables Alibaba to directly and efficiently seek information from rights holders regarding suspected counterfeit product listings.
It also lets brands identify the authenticity of a product and easily notify Alibaba of any infringements. Alibaba will then initiate the Good Faith Takedown process and immediately remove the listing without subsequent correspondence with the brand.
“The IP Joint-Force System is a revolutionary industry solution that will redefine how IP enforcement is conducted in the digital age – where brands and eCommerce marketplaces work collectively and strategically to combat counterfeiters,” says Alibaba Group head of global IP enforcement Matthew Bassiur.
“This is one of several game-changing approaches Alibaba will be advancing to both simplify and greatly enhance our overall enforcement process.”
