Alibaba releases third annual IP protection report 1 day before listed as “notorious market” by USTR

Updated: The original article said this was the first annual report when, in fact, it is the third.

The Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) name-checked Taobao for the second year in a row in its 2017 USTR Notorious Markets report, criticizing the platform and its parent company Alibaba for the “high volume of infringing products reportedly continue to be offered for sale and sold on Taobao.com.” The Chinese e-commerce giant responded by releasing a statement, accusing USTR of being politically biased:

However, Alibaba cannot deny it has a counterfeit problem. China manufactures an estimated 86% of the world’s counterfeits and e-commerce platforms have become a vital distribution channel for knock-offs. Alibaba founder and chairman Jack Ma made a very public pledge last year to “fight counterfeit in the same way we fight drunk driving.”

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