Alibaba's Taobao lands on USTR's notorious markets list for third year running
Alibaba’s Taobao has again appeared on the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) notorious markets list despite its attempts to clamp down on counterfeit products.
Alibaba has made the USTR's notorious market list for a third year running
It is the third year in a row the e-commerce giant has made the list, which cited “serious concerns” about the online marketplace’s responsiveness to counterfeit claims.
The report stated: “Although Alibaba has taken some steps to curb the offer and sale of infringing products, right holders, particularly SMEs, continue to report high volumes of infringing products and problems with using takedown procedures.”
“Serious concerns remain about Alibaba’s responsiveness to SMEs, who continue to express concerns over ineffective takedown procedures, burdensome enrollment requirements for a Good Faith program that reduces the evidentiary burden for takedown requests, and Alibaba’s delays in responding to SMEs.”
Alibaba was joined by e-commerce rival and social commerce start-up Pinduoduo, which made the list for the first time. Pinduoduo has experienced a rapid rise in popularity in China and currently ranks as the third largest e-commerce platform after Alibaba and JD.com.
The report states Pinduoduo is rife with “Shanzhai” products, which are products that take advantage of China’s trademark laws with brand names and trademarks that imitate legitimate brands in order to fool consumers into thinking that they are buying from the legitimate brand.
Alibaba has invested significantly in technology, big data and new programmes to police counterfeit goods and improve IP protection on its sites.
Other companies on the list include Indonesian marketplace Tokopedia, Singapore marketplaces Shopee and Carousell, as well as The Pirate Bay.