ABC TV Special Warns on $20b Alibaba IPO

Investor and consumer hazards highlighted.

Los Angeles, CA, September 4, 2014 - The biggest IPO in US history is about to be introduced. China-based e-Commerce giant Alibaba is expected to go public next week with a $20b IPO that could be the largest stock offering in U.S. history. Despite the media hype and investor enthusiasm, there are consumer and investor hazards.

ABC TV News featured The Counterfeit Report^®, a popular consumer protection website, in a TV News special warning consumers and investors on the hazards of the upcoming Alibaba $20b IPO.

Watch the ABC TV Video

http://abc7.com/shopping/alibabas-ipo-may-open-floodgates-to-counterfeit-products/292224/

Alibaba's websites are the largest e-commerce platform in the world, and the ideal host for dispensing $1 trillion in counterfeit goods worldwide, 90 percent of which originate in China. Consumers lose billions to these counterfeit product purchases which often go undetected until they fail, are returned for warranty,  or cause an injury.

In an apparent effort to clean-up its image before the IPO, and after a staggering 115 million infringing listings were removed from its websites, Alibaba recently announced it’s cracking down on counterfeit products. Alibaba claims its websites "have controls in place to penalize and purge repeat violators of anti-piracy rules."  

However, Alibaba's anti-counterfeiting policy is laughable. Alibaba’s in-house counsel, David Ho, says infringing sellers get “three strikes” to conform to Alibaba’s rules. Once offenders are identified, there is a warning, then a 7-day suspension, and finally the closure of the storefront’s current identity.  

Sellers can simply re-list under a new identity and continue selling, or dispute the ban under Alibaba’s ambiguous rules.

5.(4) "If the member objects to the removal of the alleged infringing product listing, the member may submit to us an appropriate counter-notice to dispute the claim. Upon receipt of such counter-notice, we may resume the member’s listing unless we receive notice from you that an action has been filed against the member in a court of competent jurisdiction for infringement of your intellectual property rights.”
(source: http://www.alibaba.com/help/safety_security/policies_rules/ipr/002.html)

Investors don’t like to be fooled, and full disclosure is imperative before any dollars change hands.

Website: www.TheCounterfeitReport.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Counterfeit-Report/131568053660579
###

The Counterfeit Report^®is the first and only website to provide consumers a free and informative visual guide to detecting counterfeit products and promote consumer awareness. Manufacturers can immediately list and update their counterfeit product information in a central venue for the greatest mass-consumer exposure, and benefit from enhanced brand protection and direct consumer education. The Counterfeit Report uses thousands of authentic and counterfeit product photos to show consumers the sophistication of counterfeiters and their ability to create visually identical counterfeit products and packaging specifically designed to deceive.  Consumers can also report seeing or purchasing counterfeit products and the source directly to the manufacturer on the website.