International AntiCounterfeiting Coalition and Alibaba Group Leadership Affirm Commitment to Cooperation in the Fight Against Online Counterfeits

WASHINGTON, June 25, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Bob Barchiesi, President of the International AntiCounterfeiting Coalition, ("IACC") and Daniel Zhang, the new CEO of the Alibaba Group ("Alibaba") met in Washington, DC on Tuesday, June 23 to evaluate progress made since the two organizations signed a Memorandum of Understanding in 2013. That MOU led directly to the development of the IACC MarketSafe initiative, a collaborative program to simplify IACC members' IPR complaint process and more effectively address the illicit trafficking of counterfeit goods on Alibaba's Taobao and Tmall platforms – two of the largest consumer-focused trading platforms in the world. The meeting underscored the commitment at the highest levels of both organizations to continue working together to find innovative and practical solutions to addressing counterfeits online.

"I welcome this opportunity to continue the candid and constructive dialogue with Mr. Zhang that we've enjoyed with his predecessors," said Mr. Barchiesi. "The relationship that we've developed has led to significant improvements on Taobao and Tmall.  We won't solve IP owners' problems overnight, but Alibaba Group has consistently shown its commitment to working with the IACC and its members, and we value the partnership that we've developed.  We're hopeful that our past success can be expanded to include additional online platforms as well."

"We share the IACC's strong commitment to taking on the issue of counterfeiting, and our close working relationship has already led to many positive achievements and results," said Mr. Zhang. "Alibaba values the partnership that we've developed.  We will continue to look for areas of collaboration and will continue our efforts to support IACC members as we fight the long-term challenge of counterfeiting."

Alibaba Group is committed to the protection of intellectual property rights and the fight against counterfeiting.  It is deploying a broad range of measures to prevent counterfeit and pirated goods from being offered and sold on its marketplaces.  It also uses technology to analyze and track infringing products and identify hotspots for counterfeit distribution and sales.

Alibaba Group's collaboration with the IACC over the past year has been meaningful and productive. To date, the IACC MarketSafe program has resulted in the removal of nearly 110,000 listings offering counterfeit goods for sale. Counterfeit goods are often manufactured using substandard or unapproved components, and can pose serious threats to consumers' health and safety.  Last year at the U.S. border, the Department of Homeland Security seized over $1.2 Billion worth of counterfeit goods destined for sale to American consumers.             

About IACC
The IACC (www.iacc.org) is a Washington, DC-based not for profit organization representing the interests of companies concerned with trademark counterfeiting and the related theft of intellectual property.  The members of the IACC include many of the world's best known brands across all product sectors.  The IACC has played a leading role in the development of cross-industry voluntary agreements, to address the illicit trafficking of counterfeit and pirated goods online, including its IACC MarketSafe and RogueBlock initiatives.

About Alibaba Group
Alibaba Group's mission is to make it easy to do business anywhere. The company is the largest online and mobile commerce company in the world in terms of gross merchandise volume. Founded in 1999, the company provides the fundamental technology infrastructure and marketing reach to help businesses leverage the power of the Internet to establish an online presence and conduct commerce with hundreds of millions of consumers and other businesses.

Alibaba Group's major businesses include:

• Taobao Marketplace (www.taobao.com), China's largest online shopping destination
• Tmall.com (www.tmall.com), China's largest third-party platform for brands and retailers
• Juhuasuan (www.juhuasuan.com), China's most popular online group buying marketplace
• Alitrip (www.alitrip.com), a leading online travel booking platform
• AliExpress (www.aliexpress.com), a global online marketplace for consumers to buy directly from China
• Alibaba.com (www.alibaba.com), China's largest global online wholesale platform for small businesses
• 1688.com (www.1688.com), a leading online wholesale marketplace in China
• Aliyun (www.aliyun.com), a provider of cloud computing services to businesses and entrepreneurs

SOURCE International AntiCounterfeiting Coalition