Alibaba does not want to be listed under "Notorious Market" list for this year

China biggest e-commerce company, Alibaba is currently improving their effort to engage with the U.S. Trade Representative to make sure its site will stay out from the agency's list of websites selling pirated and counterfeit goods. The company's affair chief, Eric Pelletier is among the person responsible in lobbying the agency.

Two website under Alibaba ownership, Taobao and Alibaba.com is currently under review according to Reuters as many reports by various brands have been filed regarding both websites to the agency. The list title "Notorious Markets" is a list created by the agency as a method to improve users' awareness when dealing with the listed website.

Although, there is no penalty given to those under the list, but the website reputation could be hurt and this could decrease traffic to the listed website.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Alibaba had sent two letters to the US agency to highlight the efforts done by the company in dealing with pirated goods sold using their platform. One of the two letters is an explanation letter that the company send to clarify a statement made by American Apparel & Footwear Association and a Spanish intellectual property right group, Andema.

Both groups previously request the USTR to list Alibaba's Taobao website under its list for this year citing that the mechanism provided by Alibaba for brands to file complaints is unreliable. Alibaba clarifies the statement saying that the complaint is baseless and Alibaba representatives are ready to meet the group if needed to clarify the accusation.

Among steps done by Alibaba is by introducing a better approach for brands around the world to report to the company if they find any pirated goods as reported by Yahoo Finance. There is also an English-language dedicated platform provided by the company where all complaints can be done by any brands. This approach will help Alibaba to quickly react to brands request and takes action immediately.

Alibaba is also increasing their effort to screen and verified seller using their platform. This comes after most of the seller selling pirated goods will use stolen identity for their profile in Alibaba to avoid getting caught.

Alibaba's websites, Alibaba.com and Taobao was listed in the USTR's list since 2008 after the agency received lots of complaints by various brands. However, after lots of steps taken by Alibaba, both website has been delisted from the "Notorious Market" list. Reuters reported that Alibaba.com was removed in 2011 while Taobao in 2012.