Best Practices on IPR Protection – Alibaba

Updated: 9 December 2022

1. What is the platform's channel(s) (e.g., online form / portal) for submitting and tracking complaints?

Alibaba has two main channels to enable different types of IP rights holder with easy ways to protect their rights and manage cases.

a. Intellectual Property Protection (IPP) Platform

Alibaba’s IPP Platform (https://ipp.alibabagroup.com) is an industry-leading, one-stop online reporting system designed to make it easy to submit complaints for alleged infringement of intellectual property rights (IPR). Rights owners, or their authorized agents, can initiate the process by submitting takedown requests based on claimed infringement of trademarks, copyright, design rights and patent rights through the IPP. To provide additional convenience to rights holders, the IPP facilitates takedown requests related too all Alibaba Group’s major e-commerce platforms, including AliExpress.

The IPP provides rights holders with more efficient complaints processing than conventional email-based or online form systems. It enables rights holders to receive real-time updates on their submitted complaints from initial submission to case conclusion. The IPP also serves as a repository for right holders’ IPR documents: rights holders upload their IPR documents just once - before they submit their first request - and the IPR document will be available for use for their subsequent filings. The IPP accepts complaints at the product listing level and each request (based upon one IPR document) can flag up to 300 product listings.

The IPP also provides transparency into the process of submissions, allowing rights holders to track cases, understand the results, and review their historic data via a user-friendly dashboard.

By the end of 2021, the IPP recognized and validated more than 640,000 individual IPRs, including trademarks, copyrights and patents, and over 580,000 rights holder user accounts had been registered.

b. Alibaba Online Form

In order to further improve accessibly and for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) around the world, Alibaba has also developed an online form (https://ipp.alibabagroup.com/complaint/onlineForm/online.htm). The functionality of the online form is simplified and tailored to smaller companies which only need to file takedown requests occasionally, or are not able to set up an IPP Platform account. The Alibaba online form is proving popular with smaller companies, and enjoyed an 81.5% year-over-year increase in user accounts in the year 2021.

2. What is the platform’s procedures and requirements for handling and processing complaints:

E.g.:
- Proof of identification of complainant
- Proof of authority to file complaint (PoA)
- Description of the counterfeit product
- Is there a “trusted notifiers” program which expedites processing complaints?

a. Registration of an account

Rights owners or their authorized agents must first register an IPP Platform account. To do so, visit https://ipp.alibabagroup.com/ and click the “Register” hyperlink. The page will be available in either English or Chinese, but if preferred there is an IPP Handbook to guide other language users, such as French, German, Italian, Japanese, Spanish, Portuguese, and Korean: https://ipp.alibabagroup.com/infoContent.htm?skyWindowUrl=notice/handbook-en

b. Verification of the new user’s identity

Alibaba requires documents to verify the identity of each rights owner. If the account is registered on behalf of an entity or individual outside of Mainland China, the registrant will be required to upload a digital image (e.g., a scan or photograph) of an official identifying document such as a driver’s license or passport (for individuals) or a business license (for a business entity). Service providers authorized to act on behalf of a rights owner, will also be required to submit documentation, such as a power of attorney.

c. Verification of the rights holder’s IPR documents

Rights owners will then be asked to provide digital versions of their IPR documentation, such as trademark registration certificates and pages demonstrating classes covered. Different information fields will be provided for different types of IPR. IPR documentation should bear the seal of the relevant issuing authority, such as a national patent or trademark office.

d. Submitting and managing notice and takedown requests

Once accounts are registered and verified, IPP users can visit a landing page to input basic complaint information. Users will need to select which IPR has been infringed, identify the nature of the infringement by selecting a corresponding complaint reason from a drop-down menu, and provide evidentiary information, or proof of infringement, to support the takedown request. The IPP accepts complaints at the product listing level and each request can flag up to 300 product listings at once. Once a takedown request has been processed, IPP users can monitor progress of their submissions, as well as review any counter-notifications which may be raised. Merchants may submit counter-notifications disputing the allegation of infringement. Upon viewing the claims and evidence provided in the counter-notifications, IPP users can opt to “Reject Counter-notification”, or accept a counter-notification and thereby withdraw their complaint.

e. The Good Faith Program

Alibaba’s Good Faith Program offers an innovative approach to online enforcement, designed to help diligent and accurate rights owners protect their IPR more efficiently through the IPP. For rights owners in the Good Faith Program, the burden of evidence to support the alleged infringement claim is reduced compared to standard IPP accounts, and the reduced evidentiary requirements mean that reported listings can be taken down more expeditiously.

Eligibility for the Good Faith Program is determined by a rights owner’s IPP Platform reporting history. The current requirements for accounts to join the Good Faith Program are as follows:
• A successful takedown rate of at least 90%, both in the aggregate and as to specific reason codes;
• A rate of successful counter-notifications by merchants against those takedown requests of no more than 5%;
• At least 100 takedown requests over the previous three months; and
• No history of deliberately providing false information or misusing Good Faith Program privileges.
Additional information about the Good Faith Program may be found at: https://ipp.alibabagroup.com/goodFaithTakedown.htm.

f. Simp’Ali IPR Cooperation

Alibaba launched the Simp’Ali IPR Cooperation program to further enhance support for SMEs using the IPP. The program sets out to provide SMEs with simplified IPR protection tools and additional support, while fostering new communication channels for Alibaba to better understand the evolving needs of SMEs for IPR protection. In 2021, more than 600 enforcement accounts of SMEs were incorporated into Simp’Ali, saving time for SMEs and reducing the complexity of filing takedown requests. By June 2022, Simp’Ali had delivered a 27% improvement in the takedown success rate for SMEs in the program. SMEs with IPP accounts can apply to join Simp’Ali via the SME Support Center (https://ipp.alibabagroup.com/smeContent.htm#/SMESupportCenter.

3. What are the expected or average complaint processing times for the notifications (with option to break down into segments, e.g., “trusted notifiers” and “others”.)

In 2021, 98% of takedown requests were processed within 24 hours during business days.

4. Is there external-facing contact(s) who can speak for the platform in relation to IP protection and anti-counterfeiting issues?

Yes, Alibaba has a team of experienced IP professionals located in several locations to support rights holders based across the world. This includes representatives based in our Hangzhou headquarters in China, as well as Singapore, the UK, Italy, France, Spain and the United States. All of these representatives can field questions about the AliExpress platform, or coordinate discussions with external-facing contacts in other regions.

5. Are there any other practices adopted by the platform has which further boost IPR protection?

- Prevention of repeat infringers policy
- Offline investigations collaboration/information sharing

Vetting of sellers on AliExpress

AliExpress makes extraordinary efforts to keep known sellers of IPR-infringing products off its platforms.

• First, all sellers on AliExpress must produce a business license in order to open a store.
• Second, sellers must agree to terms of use warranting that they have not been previously removed from Alibaba’s network or any other e-commerce platform for selling counterfeit goods.
• Third, of those sellers with valid business licenses who agree to our strict terms of use, AliExpress still rejects thousands of applications, specifically because it deems them a risk for IPR infringement.
• Fourth, AliExpress now requires sellers to provide additional documentation of authenticity for thousands of designated brands before listing their products. This is applied strictly.
• Fifth, AliExpress continuously monitors even its highly-vetted sellers and proactively closes thousands of stores each year.

AliExpress imposes severe penalties on merchants who sell IPR-infringing goods

AliExpress employs a tiered and escalating penalty system with two aims: (i) to educate its sellers about the critical importance of IPR; and (ii) to remove from the platform sellers who repeatedly reject opportunities to correct their behavior. AliExpress applies a three-strike principle: a seller caught three distinct times selling counterfeit goods is banned permanently from the platform. The process focuses on correction and education. AliExpress would rather correct the instant issue—removing the infringing listings—while giving a first or second-time violator the chance to remain on the platform with a powerful incentive to respect IPR. AliExpress also uses this chance to educate violators.

Alibaba pursues civil lawsuits against merchants who sell counterfeit goods

Alibaba has taken the pioneering step of filing civil lawsuits against merchants who misuse our e-commerce platforms to sell counterfeit goods. Starting this initiative in 2017, Alibaba filed lawsuits against counterfeiters of Swarovski, Mars, Bioderma, and Adidas branded products—the first e-commerce platform in China to do so. Civil litigation has been a component of Alibaba’s IPR protection and anti-counterfeiting efforts, and we have filed several dozen civil complaints, either individually or concurrently with rights holders, against sellers of counterfeit products over the last five years.

Alibaba cooperates with law enforcement to conduct criminal investigations of counterfeiting rings
Given that online counterfeiting sales reflect offline counterfeiting activities, Alibaba complements its online platform governance with assistance to stakeholders in offline investigations. Alibaba uses technology-enabled capabilities to detect potentially infringing activity. Alibaba supports brand owners and law enforcement in identifying counterfeit manufacturing and distribution facilities for criminal investigation. From July 2021 to June 2022, Alibaba proactively provided 309 leads to law enforcement—leading to 977 arrests and the closure of 419 facilities. The aggregate value of the resulting criminal cases was approximately $324 million. During that same period, Alibaba also responded to thousands of law enforcement requests for information. This led to an additional 1,206 arrests and closure of 514 facilities. Alibaba’s commitment to IPR enforcement does not stop at the platform’s edge.