Alibaba has played down the suspension of its membership of an anti-fakes organization, saying its measures against counterfeiting are adequate and it will continue with them.
According to a statement issued by the e-commerce giant on Wednesday, the suspension will not make any change to its operations. Alibaba joined the U.S.-based, non-profit organization International Anti-Counterfeiting Coalition (IACC) in April, becoming the first e-commerce company to join the coalition, which has over 250 member companies across the world.
However, the IACC suspended Alibaba's membership on Friday following an uproar by members that have doubts about Alibaba's stance against counterfeiting. In a letter to its members, the IACC board said that as a result of members' concerns, it was suspending a new class of membership under which Alibaba had recently joined.
The move also affected two other companies that signed up under the new rules. "We believe the most effective way to solve the counterfeiting problem is through strong industry collaboration. Intermediaries like Alibaba must be an integral part of the solution," according to Alibaba's statement.
The company employs more than 2,000 full-time anti-counterfeiting staff. "The world today is vastly different from the era when the IACC was created in the 1970s. Counterfeiters are becoming increasingly high-tech, global, and hidden," the statement said. "We encourage the IACC and the entire industry to adopt a more open and collaborative approach in order to bring positive change for the industry and all its members." Alibaba reportedly worked with Chinese police and French fashion brand Louis Vuitton and tracked down more than 60,000 fakes in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou on May 9.
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