| Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group has reiterated its resolve to fight counterfeit and to continue to do everything it can to stop illicit activities through cooperation with quality watchdogs and brand owners.
"Alibaba Group is dedicated to the fight against counterfeit goods because the health and integrity of our marketplaces depend on consumer trust," said the group's spokesperson in response to recent complaints by the American Apparel & Footwear Association to U.S. authorities about Alibaba's insufficient efforts to deal with counterfeit products on its Taobao platform.
To prevent counterfeit and pirated goods on Alibaba's platforms, the company said it has used data mining technology to analyze and track transactions involving products that violate intellectual property rights and worked with Chinese public security, copyright, quality inspection and intellectual property agencies to take the fight against fake products offline.
Alibaba also provides an online complaint platform for brand owners to report infringements and conduct random checks by using third parties to purchase suspected counterfeit products on the company's marketplaces, said the spokesperson in a statement obtained by Xinhua on Tuesday.
"Our track record of fighting illicit activities is clear and like all global companies in our industry, we must continue to do everything we can to stop these activities," he added.
AAFA filed complaints with the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission and the U.S. Trade Representative's office last week, claiming counterfeit apparel and footwear are rampant on Taobao.
"Alibaba has been working closely with AAFA since 2012 to discuss how Alibaba can collaborate with the association and its members to address sales of counterfeit goods online. We are committed to continuing our dialogue with AAFA," said the spokesperson.
According to Alibaba, it has established cooperative relationships with over 1,000 major brand owners and several industry associations to enhance the effectiveness of its delisting procedures and other anti-counterfeiting measures.
(Xinhua News Agency April 14, 2015) | 
