Alibaba Gets Big Name Support in Anti-Counterfeit Alliance
In recent weeks Alibaba has announced a new drive to help clamp down on counterfeit products and piracy on its e-commerce platforms.
The China based Alibaba Group is the largest retailer in the world, after surpassing Walmart in April 2016, and its portfolio of B2C and B2B websites puts it in the top 5 largest internet companies.
Announced by the Alibaba Group’s chief platform governance officer Jessie Zheng, the so-called Big Data Anti-Counterfeiting Alliance will use huge amounts of data, analytics and collaboration with some of the world’s biggest name brands to fight against fakes.
The alliance will consist of around 20 members and names such as Louis Vuitton, Samsung and Mars are just some of the brands who will be pooling resources to report, block and remove listings on Alibaba’s marketplaces that infringe on their IP.
It’s the next wave of anti-counterfeiting measures brought in by Alibaba which already uses algorithms and machine learning AI bots. These mechanisms helped to close down 417 production rackets which led to the arrests of 332 suspects and around $207m in fake goods being seized between April and July 2016.
Alibaba’s current counterfeit technologies scan around 10 million product listings a day and in the 12 month period between 2015 and 2016 over 380 million product listings and 180,000 third-party seller stores had been closed.
The Big Data Anti-Counterfeiting Alliance is intended to increase cooperation and transparency amongst its stakeholders whilst allowing brands to share information and expertise with each other, Alibaba and ultimately law enforcement to protect intellectual property.
It’s also expected to re-shape Alibaba’s governance rules to give brand owners more confidence with their goods being listed and sold on the website without competing with fakes whilst also protecting customers from unwittingly purchasing counterfeit products.
Scott Thompson, general counsel of marketing properties at Mars Inc, said: “We take efforts to eradicate anti-counterfeiting very seriously and are encouraged by the alliance’s commitment to use big data and advanced technologies to thwart it. We look forward to continuing to working with Alibaba and others to break the supply chain of counterfeit goods, and create an environment where counterfeiters can no longer hide.”
Jessie Zheng, chief platform governance officer of Alibaba Group, said: “The most powerful weapon against counterfeiting today is data and analytics, and the only way we can win this war is to unite. Alibaba welcomes brands and other organizations in the creation of the world’s first Big Data Anti-Counterfeiting Alliance. With our robust data capabilities, we are confident the alliance will accelerate the digital transformation in our global fight against counterfeits.”
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