Complaining about Taobao's IPR Complaint System and a MOU

When the International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA) testified for the USCC Hearing on “China’s Intellectual Property Rights and Indigenous Innovation Policy,” April 25, 2011, it focused on the software and recorded music industry. However, they also wrote a letter about the overall IP record in China, see here.

"Sites such as Alibaba.com, Aliexpress.com, GlobalSources.com, Made-in-China.com, DHgate.com, Taobao.com, and Tradetang.com are among the top online marketplaces selling videogame circumvention devices, as well as being cited by industry as offering other copyright infringing products to consumers and businesses, including scanned copies of commercial bestsellers (trade books) and academic textbooks. Unfortunately, most of these sites are unresponsive to rights holder takedown requests."

Alibaba was the only one "commended for their cooperation with videogame right holders in the removal of infringing items".

Seems that Taobao is open to suggestions that can improve the prevention and cessation of trade of IPR infringing goods.

In Hanzhou, Zhejiang province, the internet task force of the Quality Business Protection Committee (QBPC), "the China association of enterprises with foreign investment", had a roundtable meeting with Taobao. Topic of discussion was the less than perfect Taobao IPR complaint system, read here.

Online shopping site Taobao.com signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the International Publishers Copyright Protection Coalition in Beijing, see here a very brief report by the China Daily.

The golden rule expressed by Scottish sinologist James Legge, advertised at a bus stop,
sponsored by the Shenzhen Universiade 2011
photo: Danny Friedmann