Alibaba Group has joined the International AntiCounterfeiting Coalition (IACC) the first eCommerce company in the world in the largest non-profit organisation dedicated to combating product counterfeiting and piracy.
“IACC membership will further enhance our efforts to forge closer relationships with brands as we continue to explore and implement innovative solutions to address counterfeiting,” says Alibaba Group VP and head of global IP enforcement Matthew Bassiur.
“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.”
IACC president Bob Barchiesi says that successful eCommerce platforms will be those that build the right strategic partnerships to ensure safe and trusted marketplaces.
“Alibaba has consistently shown an unparalleled level of commitment over the years toward 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 and IACC started their partnership 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. The initiative has resulted in a 100 per cent take-down rate – nearly 5000 storefronts 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 IACC, Alibaba will have access to a global network of more than 250 brands and other IP experts.
Alibaba has direct partnerships with more than 580 global brands, trade associations and governments. It is also one of the few eCommerce companies to partner with law enforcement in China to help with offline anti-counterfeiting investigations.
In the quarter ended December 31, Alibaba Group reported 407 million annual active buyers on its China retail marketplaces, an increase of 21 million from the previous quarter.
