本文摘要:A collision last month between members of the International Anti-Counterfeiting Coalition (IACC) and ecommerce giant, Alibaba, is a tale of high emotions, larger-than-life characters and festering animosity between brand owners and the world’s largest online platform. Beneath the noise, however, are serious questions of how to cope with an ocean of fakes.国际反假联盟(IACC)部分成员与电商巨头阿里巴巴(Alibaba)上月的冲突,是一个传奇人物之间慷慨激昂的故事,展现出了品牌所有人与全球仅次于在线平台之间大大深化的敌意。
A collision last month between members of the International Anti-Counterfeiting Coalition (IACC) and ecommerce giant, Alibaba, is a tale of high emotions, larger-than-life characters and festering animosity between brand owners and the world’s largest online platform. Beneath the noise, however, are serious questions of how to cope with an ocean of fakes.国际反假联盟(IACC)部分成员与电商巨头阿里巴巴(Alibaba)上月的冲突,是一个传奇人物之间慷慨激昂的故事,展现出了品牌所有人与全球仅次于在线平台之间大大深化的敌意。然而,在这场风波的背后,是一个坦率的问题:如何应付假货洪水泛滥?Courts worldwide are grappling with whether to place the burden of policing online counterfeit on platforms, rights owners or both. Brand owners chafe at having to commit vast resources to policing online platforms. Platforms protest that filtering every transaction and trying to determine what is counterfeit across all industry sectors is mission impossible.世界各地的法庭都在纠葛于一个问题:对在线假货执法人员的责任应当由谁来分担——平台还是权利所有人、抑或双方不应联合分担?品牌所有人反感于自己被迫投放大量资源监督在线平台,平台方则抗议称之为,检验每笔交易并希望筛选所有行业的假货是不有可能已完成的任务。We have been here before. The same problems plagued eBay. In 1999, I faced the company’s deputy general counsel, Jay Monahan, in a windowless law office in New York on behalf of a number of luxury brands. Rights holders were concerned that eBay was fostering an environment friendly to fakes. Mr Monahan was grappling with demands to rid eBay of deceptive offerings. To delist high volumes of fakes and avoid endless litigation, we had to to work together: we hammered out a constructive co-operation which has endured. How did eBay do it? By ceaselessly monitoring the seller listings on their back end and by putting extraordinary resources into developing cutting edge tools and strategies, including smart filtering, possibly the first notice-and-take down procedures for trade mark violations, stringent measures against repeat offenders and — crucially — fast response times (usually within hours) to take down notices. These methods were revolutionary then and still provide the gold standard for online retailers.我们不是第一回置身于这样的境地了。某种程度的问题曾后遗症eBay。
1999年,我代表多个奢华品牌,在纽约的一间没窗户的律师办公室里,与eBay副总法律顾问杰伊莫纳汉(Jay Monahan)会面。当时,权利所有人担忧的是,eBay营造了不利于假货存活的环境;莫纳汉则在焦头烂额地应付让eBay清理假货的拒绝。为了下架大量的假货并防止无休止的诉讼,我们必需通力合作:我们定案了建设性的合作协议——如今该协议仍然有效地。
eBay当时是怎么做的?大大在后台监测卖家下架的商品,并投放大量资源研发最前沿的工具和策略,还包括智能检验、对商标侵权行为实行“接到通报即下架”(有可能是首个此类流程)、对屡教不改者采行严苛措施,还有很关键的是,接到下架通报后较慢号召(一般来说在数小时内)。这些方法当时是革命性的,现在仍是在线零售商中的最低标准。Meg Whitman, eBay’s chief executive at the time, understood that credibility with brand owners is key.eBay时任首席执行官梅格惠特曼(Meg Whitman)明白,提供品牌所有人的信任至关重要。The company faced a choice: do as little as it could hope to get away with, or back up its rhetoric with breakthrough technology and procedures. By opting for the latter, it spawned an era of voluntary co-operation with brands.该公司当时面对一个自由选择:是尽量推卸责任,还是说到做到、拿走突破性的技术和流程。
eBay自由选择了后者,由此首创了与品牌强迫合作的时代。Alibaba finds itself at a similar crossroads. The Chinese company has become the world’s biggest retail online platform. Its chief executive Jack Ma was appointed to David Cameron’s business advisory group, met US President Barack Obama and Alibaba was invited to join the IACC.如今,阿里巴巴发现自己正处于类似于的十字路口。这家中国公司已沦为全球仅次于的在线零售平台。阿里巴巴首席执行官马云(Jack Ma)被任命为戴维卡梅伦(David Cameron)的商业顾问团成员,与美国总统巴拉克奥巴马(Barack Obama)会谈,该公司还被邀重新加入IACC。
This invitation, though, sparked outrage among members, with Lee Sporn, general counsel to Michael Kors, stating: “The IACC has chosen to provide cover to our most dangerous and damaging adversary.” Gucci, Michael Kors and Tiffany resigned from the anti-fakes group. Alibaba’s membership was revoked and Mr Ma cancelled his keynote speech at the IACC’s annual conference. Alibaba’s charm offensive lost its way. There is a way back however. If Alibaba develops modern weapons for the current online environment, it has the potential, like eBay, for constructive co-operation with brand owners.然而,这种邀引起了IACC成员的强烈不满,时尚品牌Michael Kors的总法律顾问李斯波恩(Lee Sporn)回应:“IACC自由选择为我们最危险性且最不具破坏力的敌手获取保护伞。”古驰(Gucci)、Michael Kors和蒂芙尼(Tiffany)解散了IACC。
阿里巴巴的会员资格被停止,马云中止了原订在IACC年度大会上的主题演说。阿里巴巴的魅力攻势艾米了方向。然而,马云还有后路。
如果阿里巴巴为当前的在线环境研发出有现代化武器,它就有可能像eBay那样,与品牌所有人达成协议建设性的合作关系。Pirates are more adept at using new technologies than those trying to shut them down. This has turned the fight against counterfeit sites into a “whack a mole” game. Take down a pirate page and an identical one pops up in a new location. Michael Evans, Alibaba’s president, has asserted, however, that Alibaba has “the tools to change the way this war is waged...using data and technology...to defeat the counterfeiters”. Rights holders are understandably keen for Alibaba to demonstrate the advanced tools of which it speaks. At a meeting last week, a group of British brand owners presented Alibaba with a wish list including notice and trackdown, digital fingerprinting and a piracy indicia module for red-flagging offenders. Such tracing parallels the fundamental “follow-the-money” principle. The meeting concluded on a positive note. If Alibaba delivers, it will be a game changer by stopping counterfeiting at source rather than at platform level.与那些企图压制侵权行为的人比起,侵权者更加擅于用于新技术。这让压制假货的活动沦为“打地鼠”游戏。
重开一个假货网页,某种程度的网页又在新的地方冒出来。然而,阿里巴巴总裁迈克尔埃文斯(Michael Evans)否认,阿里巴巴有“工具转变这场战争的展开方式……用于数据和技术……打败造假者”。
可以解读的是,权利所有人渴求阿里巴巴实实在在地拿走它所说的先进设备工具。在上周的一场会议上,一群英国品牌所有人向阿里巴巴递交了一份心愿表格,还包括通报和查出、数字指纹以及为高危侵权者创立侵权行为标记模块。
此类跟踪方法与基本的“跟踪金钱流向”法相近。此次会议以大力的基调完结。如果阿里巴巴用实际行动符合品牌所有人的希望,就将彻底改变反假战争的格局——从源头上阻止不实、而非在平台上清理假货。Alibaba’s implementation of any new voluntary measures must be swift and rigorous. If not, courts and legislators will be pressed to act. Alibaba should not waste a crisis. It can turn it into an opportunity.阿里巴巴必需很快、严苛地继续执行一切新的强迫措施。
不然的话,法庭和立法机构将不得不采取行动。阿里巴巴不不应浪费一场危机,它可以将这场危机转化成为机遇。
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