Alibaba Sued Over Alleged Counterfeits
The Wall Street Journal: The owner of several of the world’s best-known luxury brands has filed a fresh lawsuit against Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. , the latest challenge to the Chinese e-commerce giant’s assertions that it fights the sale of counterfeit goods on its platforms.
The lawsuit, filed Friday in federal court in Manhattan by Gucci, Balenciaga, Yves Saint Laurent and other brands owned by Paris-based Kering SA, indicates that the company is unsatisfied with Alibaba’s efforts to address the problem of counterfeiting of its brands.
The suit alleges that Alibaba and its associated companies “knowingly encourage, assist, and profit from the sale of counterfeits on their online platforms,” according to a copy of the filing reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.
Alibaba said the complaint had no basis and that it has a “strong track record” of helping brands fight counterfeits.
“Unfortunately, Kering Group has chosen the path of wasteful litigation instead of the path of constructive cooperation. We believe this complaint has no basis and we will fight it vigorously,” an Alibaba spokesman said.
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WIRED: Chinese e-Commerce giant Alibaba has a fake goods problem. The company knows it, and the Chinese government has made abundantly clear it knows, too. Now, to combat counterfeits, the company has come up with a solution: Slap unique QR code-like tags on every product. Today, in conjunction with the Israeli startup Visualead, Alibaba debuted what it’s calling dotless visual codes. Read more
