Alibaba is Getting Sued For Allegedly Letting Users Sell Fake Luxury Products

May 17, 2015

A group of luxury brands have filed a lawsuit against Alibaba for allowing users to sell counterfeit products on their site.

The lawsuit was filed in Manhattan federal court by Kering, a holdings company that counts Alexander McQueen, Balenciaga, Brioni and Gucci among its owned luxury brands.

According to the lawsuit, Alibaba provided resources allowing counterfeiters to market and sell their goods to customers in the United States.

Bob Christie, an Alibaba representative, said in a statement:

“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.”

This marks the second lawsuit Kering has filed over the online shopping giant’s alleged sale of counterfeit goods. The first one was filed back in July but was withdrawn the same month in the hopes that both companies could work things out. Obviously, an agreement didn’t come to fruition.

As an example, the lawsuit alleges there was a fake Gucci bag offered on Alibaba for $2 to $5 each by a Chinese merchant to buyers willing to buy at least 2,000 units. A real Gucci bag typically retails for $795.

A representative for Kering told CNN Money:

“This lawsuit is part of Kering’s ongoing global effort to maintain its customers’ trust in its genuine products.”

Alibaba has not been a recipient of good press lately. Earlier this month, the company was forced to take down a controversial job ad that called for a female programmer who was an “open-minded Lolita.”

Source: Shanghai Daily

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