Alibaba Stays Off US’ Blacklist Counterfeit Good List

Alibaba has had a tough 2015 in terms of accusations surrounding the alleged sale of fake goods on its website.

But now, Alibaba has secured a mini-victory on the reputation side after its lobbying efforts to defend its name paid off. The company has now officially avoided being put on the U.S. blacklist of sites that are known for hosting fake goods sales.

Because the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) recently said it was “increasingly concerned” about Alibaba’s oversight with its merchants, as Reuters reported late last week, Alibaba’s efforts toward stopping the sale of fake goods on its marketplaces should be noted.

“Counterfeiting is an issue all global eCommerce companies face, and we are doing all we can to address and fight it,” an Alibaba spokesman said in an emailed statement to Reuters.

“We will continue to work with brands, governments and our sellers to maintain the integrity of our marketplaces.”

Alibaba has been struggling with this battle for most of 2015 after reports surfaced that the company was enabling the sale of fake goods on its sites, as well as allowing merchants to buy fake reviews that gave them a more prominent spot on the marketplace. But Alibaba’s executive team has been quick to go on defense, saying that it’s investing heavily to prevent these practices as much as possible.

It was just a few years ago that Alibaba’s Taobao Marketplace and Alibaba.com were removed from the blacklist. And to stay on the good side, Alibaba’s executive team said they have worked to continually combat the problem across all of its marketplaces. But, there are still concerns.

“Despite these new procedures, USTR is increasingly concerned by rights holders’ reports that Alibaba Group’s enforcement program is too slow, difficult to use and lacks transparency,” USTR said in a statement on Thursday (Dec. 17), referring to complaints from trademark holders that sell merchandise on the site.