Alibaba spends over $160 million fighting fake goods on its websites
Alibaba, Chinese e-commerce giant, has said it has spent over 1 billion yuan ($160m) fighting fake goods on
its websites from the beginning of 2013 to November of this year. The firm will add another 200 people next year to the 2,000 workers tackling counterfeit goods on its sites and the 5,400 volunteers who are already involved in the company's daily surveillance, as BBC reports.
The world's largest e-commerce company had said in its IPO prospectus that counterfeits goods could hurt its ability to win customers, investors and US retail partners. The prevalence of fake goods is still a big problem in China though.
In comparison, US e-commerce site eBay said in a court filing in 2010 that it spends up to $20m a year on "buyer protection programs" such as reimbursing buyers for fake goods bought on its site.
"We bear a serious responsibility in this fight against counterfeits," said Jonathan Lu, chief executive of Alibaba Group in a statement on Tuesday.
"Jack Ma said yesterday - if e-commerce does well in China, that may have little to do with Alibaba Group, but if counterfeits in society are not tackled effectively, it has a lot to do with Alibaba Group."
The tech giant's retail businesses were listed on the US Trade Representatives list of "notorious markets" for intellectual property (IP) infringement until 2012.
China and Hong Kong accounted for 93% of the value of IP-infringing goods seized by US customs in the 2013 fiscal year, according to a government report.
The mission has been an uphill battle, while Alibaba has been aggressive in its push to remove knock-offs from its sites.
The official State Administration of Industry and Commerce (SAIC) conducted an investigation on counterfeits on Singles’ Day. It found 10.6 per cent of the goods that it bought online from various vendors and platforms were fake or highly suspicious.
Alibaba said it had co-operated with Chinese authorities in over 1,000 counterfeiting cases just this year.
