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China-based e-commerce giant Alibaba has rolled out a new system for detecting counterfeit items for sale on its e-commerce marketplaces.
Dubbed the Intellectual Property (IP) Joint-Force System, the tool partners with brands to give them priority access to Alibaba's counterfeit reporting tools when an item for sale is fake. Brands that have already been subjected to counterfeit infringement are being assigned an Alibaba account manager to work directly with them. If a dupe is spotted for sale, the brand can notify Alibaba directly, and have the listing taken down.
Alibaba's e-commerce marketplaces like Taobao and Tmall have long been flooded with counterfeit items, and outside parties are beginning to raise concerns. In December 2015, the Office of the United States Trade Representative issued a statement saying that it is growing "increasingly concerned" about Alibaba's negligence in policing counterfeit goods on its e-commerce sites.
Alibaba has been on the office's watch list for counterfeit goods since 2008. And in May, the company was suspended from the International Anti-Counterfeiting Coalition due to protests from other retail members citing Alibaba's lack of strict policing over counterfeits.
The new IP Joint-Force System should help Alibaba get rid of fakes and regain trust among consumers and fellow retailers. In the past, Alibaba has partnered with select brands to help identify and remove counterfeit items, and this new system feels like an extension of that effort.
Last year, luxury apparel brand Burberry entered into a partnership with Tmall.com — Burberry agreed to list a curated selection of its items for sale on the site and in exchange Tmall promised to take down the counterfeit ones. As a result, Alibaba removed 23,000 illicit Burberry products from Tmall, reports Bloomberg.
Removing counterfeits will also help Alibaba retain its spot as China's top online retailer — it currently controls 47% of the e-commerce market, according to Business of Fashion. And in Q1 2016, Alibaba's global revenue totaled $3.8 billion, up 39% YoY. The company's heightened commitment to removing counterfeit goods may help it grow sales further by creating more loyal, trusting customers.