After four years, Taobao is on the "blacklist" again

　　In 2011, Taobao was included in the Notorious Market list by the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), which mainly brings together markets and infringing websites selling counterfeit goods in various parts of the world. However, a year later, Taobao was removed from the list. Now four years later, Taobao is on this list. Alibaba Group President Bethune said, "He highly doubts whether this decision is realistic or is influenced by the current political atmosphere." More media articles also defend Taobao.

　　No matter how Alibaba makes a maintenance statement, there is no way to deny the fact that there are a large number of fakes on Taobao. On the other hand, this situation will occur, and China also has an unshirkable responsibility for the supervision of product quality.

　　1. The State Administration for Industry and Commerce of China pointed out that Taobao’s authentic product rate is only "37.25%", which is far lower than the average "58.7%"

　　On January 23, 2015, the State Administration for Industry and Commerce of China released the "Result of Targeted Monitoring of Online Traded Products in the Second Half of 2014". The report defines "non-authentic" including "counterfeit and shoddy products, refurbished products, non-authorized formal channels, products with inconsistent content with publicity, no 3C certification, non-official authentic products in mainland China, and products that do not meet the requirements of "Common Labels for Consumer Products Instructions for Use" that not only include "A goods", but also "fake goods" with inadequate quality. In this report, Taobao's authenticity rate is much lower than the average. Faced with these accusations, Taobao believes that the USTR's report is politically biased; it also indicates that the investigation of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce is targeted. However, Taobao still has a large number of products that infringe on intellectual property rights or have poor quality. It is an undeniable fact that it can face the problem more or be more responsible.

　　2. USTR pointed out that there are a large number of counterfeit and pirated products on Taobao, including vehicle parts that strictly comply with standards.

　　According to the USTR's report "2016 Notorious Markets List Spotlights Fight against Global Piracy and Counterfeiting of American Products", USTR's "notorious market" list mainly targets infringing goods, namely counterfeit goods, which are what is commonly called "A goods" and "counterfeiting goods". USTR believes that Taobao’s counterfeit goods are present in large quantities, including some products that need to be highly compliant with standards, such as vehicle parts.

　　3. Although there are more laws on online shopping in China, the binding force is not strong. Taobao cannot evade responsibility just because it is a third-party platform.

　　In 2014, China issued a series of laws applicable to online shopping consumption and specifically pointed out the responsibilities of "online trading platform providers", which means that third-party trading platforms such as Taobao, JD.com, and Jumei Youpin should also bear certain responsibilities for their online store products. As the newly revised Article 44 of the Consumer Rights Protection Law points out that "if online trading platform providers cannot provide the real name, address and valid contact information of sellers or service providers, consumers can also ask for compensation from online trading platform providers"; and the "Punishment Measures for Acts of Infringement of Consumer Rights" regulates major promotions such as "Double Eleven" and "Double Twelve".

　　However, these laws are not binding at all. Most of the terms are just reminders and no violation penalties are established for third-party platforms. For example, for infringement of exclusive trademark rights, the "Online Transaction Management Measures" only believe that third-party platforms should take measures against illegal online stores, but do not stipulate that third-party platforms should also be punished.

　　4. Not only is the supervision of third-party platforms too loose, but China also has poor supervision of counterfeit operators.

　　Make a list: If a merchant sells counterfeit products in China and steals another person's trademark, he will face penalties in Articles 57 and 60 of the Trademark Law of China 2013 - "If an illegal business volume exceeds 50,000 yuan, he may be fined less than 5 times the illegal business volume. If there is no illegal business volume or the illegal business volume is less than 50,000 yuan, he may be fined less than 250,000 yuan."

　　If he sells counterfeit goods with poor quality, he may face the penalty of Article 49 of the Product Quality Law of the People's Republic of China (Revised Edition in 2009) - "Producing products that endanger personal safety will be fined not more than three times the value of the product value of the product that is illegally produced and sold. If it is adulterated or adulterated, it will be fined not less than fifty percent but more than three times the value of the product value of the product that is illegally produced and sold."

　　5. In the United States, selling counterfeit goods is not only fined until they lose everything, but also in jail; but selling counterfeit goods in China is small, providing a hotbed for the breeding of counterfeit goods.

　　That is to say, if the merchant is punished by producing or selling counterfeit products, or even selling products that do not meet safety standards, the merchant is punished only by several times the amount of money he earns. However, if in the United States, under Section 2320(a) of the United States Code, for first offenses, if the trademark infringement is an individual, a fine of not more than $500,000 or imprisonment of less than 10 years or both, or if not an individual, a fine of not more than $2 million is imposed - meaning that selling counterfeit goods in the United States will not only face a large fine, but may also be imprisoned.

　　Here, compared with a news in July this year, Guiding Jianmin Rehabilitation Hospital used fake drugs and was investigated and punished by the Qiannan Prefecture Food and Drug Administration. The punishment for this move was only confiscation of drugs and only fined 180 yuan. It can be seen that the domestic maintenance of genuine products is not very strong, and the punishment for counterfeit products is too light. This behavior will only make the counterfeit trade more and more rampant.

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