Alibaba Group Holding has forged an anti-counterfeiting alliance with about 20 established brands, signaling the e-commerce giant may take a more aggressive effort this year to improve its reputation.
Alibaba touted the alliance, which it launched on Monday in Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang Province, as the world's first group to employ big data in the fight against counterfeit products.
The adoption of Internet technologies is expected to make cracking down on counterfeits, no matter whether online or offline, more effective, more efficient and more transparent, according to a press release Alibaba sent to the Global Times on Monday.
The initial members of the alliance include about 20 internationally established brands such as luxury fashion brand LV, jewelry retailer Swarovski and the consumer electronics makers Huawei, Sony, Samsung and Canon.
Alibaba, which started the alliance, selected the members through "prudent assessment," according to the press release, which did not provide details about the selection process.
This is not the first time for Alibaba to join hands with brands to crack down on fake goods. The company said that it has partnered with more than 18,000 international brands such as Apple.
Still, Alibaba has been subject to complaints over the past few years about the sale of counterfeit goods on its online consumer-to-consumer platform Taobao.
Last December, U.S. authorities put Taobao back on their annual list of notorious markets that sell fake goods, which reportedly caused a blow to Alibaba's reputation.
