Alibaba Sued For Counterfeiting Goods

Luxury brands have filed a lawsuit against Alibaba over counterfeiting goods on its platforms

Alibaba Group Holding is one of the biggest names in the world in the online wholesale and retailing market. The company has managed to grow immensely in a very short span of time where it is now competing with the biggest online retailers in the e-commerce market. Undoubtedly, it is the largest B2B business in the world. The fame of its unique online marketplace platforms for both buyers and sellers are in every corner of the world. However, it is believed that the company is being sued over counterfeiting goods by luxury brands.

Alibaba Group is known as one of the most reliable option in the online shopping world that guarantees quality at comparatively cheaper rates. However, the owners of various luxury brands of the world that are available through Alibaba’s online marketplaces are taking an action to take the e-commerce giant to court, according to latest Alibaba news. The luxury brands have filed a lawsuit against the Chinese company over fighting the sales of counterfeiting their products on its online platforms.

The few luxury brands that filed a lawsuit on Friday in the federal court in Manhattan includes Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent, Balenciaga and brands owned by Kering Sa, a Paris based company. According to Wall Street Journal, the lawsuit over counterfeiting good allegation indicates that “Alibaba and its associated companies knowingly encourage, assist, and profit from the sale of counterfeits on their online platforms.”

However, Alibaba has denied all the allegations and claims from the luxurious brands regarding counterfeiting goods on its online marketplace platforms, as reported for current Alibaba update. The company stated that all of these are false allegations with no basis and strong stance. The company assured that it has a strong track record that will help it to fight counterfeits against such brands.

A spokesperson of Alibaba, Bob Christie stated “We continue to work in partnership with numerous brands to help them protect their intellectual property, and we have a strong track record of doing so. Unfortunately, Kering Group has chosen the path of wasteful litigation instead of the path of constructive cooperation. We believe this complaint has no basis and we will fight it vigorously.”

The company has been previously alleged to counterfeit prices of goods on its online marketplace platforms as well that include Tmall and Taobao. However, this time the company is sure that nothing of this sort will happen again because such allegations are giving the company an ill name in the market. Due to this, Alibaba stocks were also flat in the market on Friday as they were being traded at $88.46.