IPPro Issue 002

Alibaba Update
Power to the enforcers
Matthew Bassiur of Alibaba, gives an update of the e-commerce company’s
enforcement efforts
Barney Dixon reports
Third party support for Alibaba has grown in recent years. What do
you think Alibaba does well in terms of enforcement?
You are absolutely right. We are seeing a deeper appreciation for
Alibaba’s efforts and a greater understanding of our role as a partner
in intellectual property protection. In recent years, Alibaba has made
it even easier for rights holders to work with us and protect their IP.
These efforts are paying off for rights holders. Leading brands, small
and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and industry associations,
including some who were previously our most vocal critics, have
voiced their support for and satisfaction with our programs.
To illustrate, let me share some data from last year. While the number of
registered accounts in our IP protection system rose 17 percent yearon-year,
the number of takedown requests dropped 42 percent. We
believe this is attributable to Alibaba’s efforts in proactively identifying
and removing potentially problematic listings. Listings go through our
scanning engine, which identifies and intercepts problematic listings
within microseconds, and prevents their entry onto our platforms. In
addition, our deep learning algorithms continue to apply complex
modeling to proactively remove suspicious live listings. In fact, last
year 97 percent of our proactive takedowns occurred before a single
sale took place.
Additionally, in 2017 we launched enhanced data modeling to our IP
protection platform to speed up the handling of takedown requests.
As a result we’ve seen a two-thirds reduction in processing time and
24 hour handling time during business hours has become the new
norm. To assist small businesses and individuals, we have taken
the extra step of developing a simplified online form for submitting
takedown requests in order to make it easier for them to report and
remove infringing listings.
Finally, when we do identify infringers, we take action, in 2017, we
closed more than 240,000 Taobao stores.
Our offline enforcement efforts are also an area of strength. Alibaba
does not limit its IP protection efforts to online matters and we work
closely with rights holders and Chinese law enforcement officials. In
2017, there were hundreds of arrests based on information and leads
provided by Alibaba. We are taking action in civil courts as well as
assisting in criminal matters.
To date, we have brought 12 civil actions in China. Last year, we sued
two sellers of counterfeit Swarovski watches and we brought and
won a lawsuit against a pet-food vendor by alleging damage to our
brand and reputation for selling counterfeit cat food on our platform
and in violation of our terms of service. We believe these are the first
legal actions brought in China by an e-commerce company against
infringing sellers on its platform.
Do you think Alibaba has changed perceptions of its commitment
on IP? How has Alibaba won over brands that may have previously
argued that Alibaba doesn’t do enough? How does it build trust
with brands?
I believe perceptions have changed, yes. Collaboration between
Alibaba and rights holders is essential for the protection of IP, and
every day we are working with brands to understand their IP and
how we can work together. We listen to, deeply value and take
action based on what we hear from them.
As an example, in 2016, Alibaba merged its notice and takedown
systems into a single ‘one-stop’ IP protection platform. This was a
significant undertaking for us, but we knew from our collaboration
with rights holders that a more unified and streamlined notice and
takedown system was something that would be well received. As I
mentioned earlier, in 2017 we made enhancements to platform to
allow for faster processing of takedown requests.
Alibaba has, for years, invested heavily in both technologies; it takes
time for the development, testing and implementation of technological
enhancement. It also takes time for those enhancements to be
adopted and the benefits realised. I think in some ways the changes
in perceptions we’re seeing now are the result of sustained, years
long efforts by Alibaba.
It also takes time to build the trusted relationships that enable
our success. More than 100,000 brands operate on our platforms,
including 75 percent of the world’s most valuable consumer brands,
as well as countless small businesses, all of which have thriving
businesses on Alibaba’s platforms.
These businesses would not choose to work with us if they did not
view us as a trustworthy partner.
One of the key initiatives that Alibaba launched in 2017 was the
AACA. Can you tell us a little bit about the AACA and any plans
for 2018?
We established the Alibaba Anti-Counterfeiting Alliance (AACA)
in 2017, an alliance created among Alibaba and approximately 30
global and domestic China brands, including Louis Vuitton, Uniqlo
and Burberry. In September of last year, we created an Advisory
Board to give AACA members the chance to participate in strategic
decision-making and influence policies being considered by Alibaba.
Advisory Board members include Swarovski, Adidas, Ford, Pernod
Ricard and Sony, among others.
Representation covers each of the industries represented in the AACA,
including apparel, personal care products, consumer electronics, and
the automotive industry.
Simply put, we leverage our
big data and analytics to help target
illicit manufacturers, distributors and
suppliers of counterfeit products
Matthew Bassiur, vice president and head of global IP enforcement, Alibaba Group
We believe this is an industry first and Alibaba will hugely benefit
from the input of the AACA and the Advisory Board.
This year we announced that the AACA was adding more members
to bring our full membership to approximately 100 brands. This not
only triples the number of companies that will benefit from the AACA
programs and initiatives, but provides even broader representation
in the dozen industries.
What role does technology play in Alibaba’s work on intellectual
property protection?
The online environment is reflective of the offline reality and Alibaba
takes a technology-driven approach to IP protection. As a leading
global technology company, we leverage our advanced algorithms
and machine-learning capabilities for our online and offline IP
protection efforts. Online, we proactively monitor our platforms in
order to identify potentially problematic listings and take action. Our
data modeling is constantly improved upon to increase the accuracy
in identifying, preventing or deleting suspicious listings. Offline, we
use data and analytics to build cases for referrals to law enforcement.
This is in addition to responding to many valid law enforcement
requests for information to support their own investigations. Simply
put, we leverage our big data and analytics to help target illicit
manufacturers, distributors and suppliers of counterfeit products. We
are also one of the few e-commerce platforms—if not the only one—
to also have such a robust, proactive offline investigations program.
How else is Alibaba working to create a better environment for IP
protection in China?
In addition to the efforts I have already described, we view it as
part of our responsibility to advocate for improvements in laws and
enforcement penalties in this areas.
The best example of this is the vocal public advocacy of Alibaba’s
founder and executive chairman Jack Ma who last year called for
stronger IP laws and enforcement in China including jail time for
offenders. So it is very encouraging to see just such changes being
discussed in China. IPPro
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