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Faked in China: What are Wechat, Alibaba and JD doing against plagiarism?

Counterfeit goods from China are a problem for companies, including in the Chinese market. But if you want to get involved there, you can’t avoid the platforms. What do Wechat, Alibaba and Co. do against plagiarism – and what can manufacturers do?

Trading on large online platforms brings them with them: the risk of one’s own products being copied, imitated and counterfeited. Amazon is struggling with this problem, but Chinese trading platforms such as Alibaba are much more affected. Almost all of them suffer.

Counterfeit goods damage the economy in the billions and cost jobs. Between 2014 and 2019, every tenth company in Germany was the victim of product counterfeiters at least once. During this period, the German economy suffered damage amounting to 54.5 billion euros. Product and brand piracy have resulted in the loss of around 500,000 jobs.

Product piracy is defined as “targeted infringement of copyright and industrial property rights in which protected works and goods are copied and then distributed”. Counterfeiting occurs across all sectors – from consumer goods such as clothing or handbags to software, medicines and food. And the mechanical engineering association VDMA has been complaining about the steadily growing number of plagiarisms for years – this affects not only corporations like Siemens or the ball bearing manufacturer SKF, but also many small and medium-sized companies. One is particularly outraged about the high number of counterfeits at Alibaba.

To go with it: From Tencent to Tiktok – China Inside

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Plagiarism is dangerous in several ways: Counterfeit products can be confiscated during customs controls without the right to a replacement, and counterfeit food and medication can cause damage to health. In extreme cases, counterfeit machines or machine parts of inferior quality can paralyze an entire company.

China in particular has been in the focus for years when it comes to copying well-known German brands and products. It is by no means just about the production of counterfeit goods, but also about their distribution. This also applies to manufacturers who move in a gray area between legality and illegality by offering copied products from other manufacturers under their own brand names.

The operators of the major Chinese e-commerce platforms Wechat, Alibaba and JD.com have been trying for years to take special precautions to prevent the spread of counterfeits and thus gain consumer confidence. In 2019 and 2020 in particular, more measures were taken to minimize the number of counterfeit products.

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