Taobao.com experienced an increase in online orders for masks, air purifiers, sportswear and condoms. (Photo : www.china.org.cn)
Alibaba's online marketplace Taobao is again threatened to be put back on the U.S. government's list of "Notorious Markets" for counterfeit goods after the American Apparel and Footwear Association filed a formal complaint with the U.S. Trade Representative, the China Daily reported.
According to the report, Chen Fengying, head of Global Economic Research with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, advised Chinese companies such as Alibaba to be careful when doing business in foreign markets.
"Why do we see some Chinese companies being targeted when they enter foreign markets? For one thing, those markets have more strict rules than ours, especially for protecting intellectual property rights. But at the same time, competitive firms sometimes get more attention from the authorities. Once they spot an issue they will go after the firms for it. So once Chinese companies venture into foreign markets, they need to be sure they're complying with local laws and regulations," Chen said.
The issue of counterfeit goods has long been a problem for Alibaba, the report added.
It was in 2011 when Taobao was first added to the U.S. government's "Notorious Markets" list. However, a year later, the company was removed from the list after Alibaba worked with trademark owners to clean up the site, the report said.
Earlier this year, Alibaba was again slapped with a lawsuit in New York after French luxury product producer Kering claimed that Alibaba profited from the sale of fake goods.
Alibaba denied the accusations and stressed that the company has made great efforts to restrain and prohibit counterfeit goods on its platform.
To eliminate fake goods on Taobao, Alibaba said it conducted random checks, used data-mining technology and offered an online complaint forum.
Analysts said that Alibaba should continue with its campaign to eliminate counterfeit goods to maintain a good reputation abroad and keep its dominance in the e-commerce market in China.
