Overview:
To protect your IPR with domestic (e.g. 1688, Tmall, Taobao, Jingdong) or cross-border (e.g. AliExpress, Alibaba) e-commerce platforms (e.g. Alibaba, Jingdong, AliExpress, Amazon) in China, you should record your Chinese IPR or foreign IPR (only for cross-border e-commerce platforms) with such platform’ IP protection system to detect any potential infringement and submit complaint quickly to remove counterfeits if any infringing activity is detected. You should also consider using the e-commerce platform's dispute resolution services if available and contact the platform directly if necessary (e.g., launching litigation after complaint).
Alibaba and its affiliate websites are China-based. While they do recognize foreign IP registrations and will take down counterfeit listings from their site based on foreign IP. Actually, such entire process goes much smoother if your IP is also registered separately in China. Thus, you should do this even if China is not a target market for your company.
Procedure and Duration:
Recordation: Within 3 working days from the filing date, the e-commerce platform will decide whether to approve the recordation. (Link: https://ipp.alibabagroup.com/login.htm)
Report: After approval of recordation, the IPR holders can submit a complaint to remove counterfeit and the defendant should respond within 3 working days upon receipt. After that, the platform will make a decision to remove or not within 3-10 working days.
Docs/ info required:
- Proof of ID;
- POA;
- Certificate of IP (should also provide the examination report where claiming utility/ design);
- the links of counterfeits.