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Getting Counterfeit Products Off China Websites: It’s Possible
A couple of our China lawyers spend a small part of nearly every day writing to or calling Chinese websites like Alibaba to request that they take down counterfeit products. Their success rate on getting these products removed within a week or so is North of 95%.
Yesterday, the following email (modified very slightly) crossed my computer. It is from one of our China lawyers who does these takedown requests all the time to another of our lawyers who needed information regarding the process. I am publishing it here to show that if the IP facts (and that typically means China IP registrationsm or in some cases, registrations in your home country) are in your favor, getting counterfeit products removed from Chinese websites is definitely possible and generally not all that difficult. But you do need to be persistant and it certainly helps to be able to read and write and speak Chinese. Here is that email:
I have indeed worked on numerous takedown matters across multiple websites, many on behalf of _______. Every Chinese website has its own protocols, and you need to follow that site’s protocols before you can even think about going to court (and I’m sure the client could care less about court, as they just want the clips taken down ASAP). You are also correct that only the copyright owner or its authorized representative can make takedown requests. However, sites vary as to the sort of authentication they need for a Power of Attorney. Werarely deal with any that require a POA [Power of Attorney] to be authenticated or notarized — this is a big time sinkhole when you have to deal with government agencies, but not so much with private companies.
The most important thing is that if you want to get traction, you will need to show proof that the IP (copyright or trademark) has been registered, and for some sites you will need to prove that it has been registered in China. Yes, I am aware that China is obligated to recognize a copyright registered in any Berne Convention signatory nation. But try explaining China’s WTO obligations to a 21-year-old customer service representative and see how far you get. This issue is where a lot of complainants get bogged down, because in some situations, by the time they get their China copyright registration and can submit a takedown request, the damage has been done. How many people will still be downloading Avengers: Age of Ultron VFX clips in three months?
Another thing to consider is that the more sophisticated/well-heeled the website, the more likely that they have a formal takedown procedure, or perhaps even a full-fledged website for submitting complaints. This is what Alibaba does. For the smaller websites, you generally have to contact someone directly and hope for the best, because the instructions on the website are hopeless. But unless the website is an out-and-out pirate site, the IP complaint people are usually helpful, albeit within their highly limited constraints. They don’t want to host counterfeit or pirated content, and as long as you do all the work for them, they’ll be happy to take it down.
Finally, you should be aware that once this process begins, it’s pretty much ongoing. The pirates and counterfeiters don’t just give up because their first upload got taken down. We constantly need to monitor and report.
Coincidentally, last week I had a good conversation (for more than an hour) with the US head of Alibaba’s content protection team. Alibaba has some interesting anti-infringement programs that they’re trying to implement.
What are you seeing out there?
See also Register Your Trademark In China Because Alibaba Is Serious About IP.
The post Getting Counterfeit Products Off China Websites: It’s Possible appeared first on China Law Blog.
We will be discussing the practical aspects of Chinese law and how it impacts business there. We will be telling you what works and what does not and what you as a businessperson can do to use the law to your advantage. Our aim is to assist businesses already in China or planning to go into China, not to break new ground in legal theory or policy.
Source: http://www.chinalawblog.com/2015/05/getting-counterfeit-products-off-china-websites-its-possible.html
