Alibaba sued in US by luxury brands over counterfeit goods

A group of luxury goods makers sued Alibaba Group Holding Ltd on Friday, contending the Chinese online shopping giant had knowingly made it possible for counterfeiters to sell their products throughout the world.

上周五，多家奢侈品制造商起诉阿里巴巴集团，称中国电商巨头故意纵容造假者将其假货销往世界各地。

The lawsuit was filed in Manhattan federal court by Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent and other brands owned by Paris-based Kering SA seeking damages and an injunction for alleged violations of trademark and racketeering laws.

该诉讼案由古驰(Gucci)、伊夫·圣·洛朗(Yves Saint Laurent)以及法国开云集团(Kering SA)旗下的其它品牌在曼哈顿联邦法院提起，要求赔偿并对违反商标法和勒索法的商品进行禁售。

The lawsuit alleged that Alibaba had conspired to manufacture, offer for sale and traffic in counterfeit products bearing their trademarks without their permission.

诉讼案称，阿里巴巴在未经上述品牌的许可下，与造假者密谋制造商品并打上其商标，并提供销售平台和流量。

A spokesman for Alibaba, Bob Christie, said in a statement:

阿里巴巴发言人Bob Christie在一份声明中称：

"We continue to work in partnership with numerous brands to help them protect their intellectual property, and we have a strong track record of doing so.

“我们将继续与众多品牌合作，以帮助他们保护知识产权，我们在以往的合作中取得了重大成效。

Unfortunately, Kering Group has chosen the path of wasteful litigation instead of the path of constructive cooperation.

可惜，开云集团选择了浪费时间精力的诉讼途径，而不是更具建设性的合作途径。

We believe this complaint has no basis and we will fight it vigorously."

我们认为这项指控没有任何依据，并将积极应对。”

Concerns over fake products on Alibaba’s platforms, including online marketplace Taobao, have dogged it for years, although the US Trade Representative removed Taobao from its list of "notorious markets" in 2012 in light of progress made.

多年来，由于其众多平台包括淘宝上的假冒产品，阿里巴巴收到了众多困扰，尽管在2012年取得进展，美国贸易代表将淘宝从“恶名市场”名单中移除。

Friday’s lawsuit marked the second time in less than a year that the Kering brands had sued Alibaba over the alleged sale of counterfeit products.

周五的诉讼是开云集团旗下品牌因售假问题，在一年之内对阿里巴巴提起的第二次诉讼。

An earlier lawsuit was filed in July only to be withdrawn the same month with the ability to refile it while the Kering units worked toward a resolution with Alibaba, according to court records.

根据法庭记录，之前的诉讼是在7月份但当月就撤销了，由开云集团方面同阿里巴巴协商解决。

The lawsuit alleged that Alibaba and its related entities "provide the marketplace advertising and other essential services necessary for counterfeiters to sell their counterfeit products to customers in the United States."

诉讼表示，阿里巴巴和其相关实体“为假货制造者提供了市场广告和其他必要的服务，帮助它们面向美国消费者售假。”

The lawsuit cited, for example, an alleged fake Gucci bag offered for $2 to $5 each by a Chinese merchant to buyers seeking at least 2,000 units.

诉讼列举了一个例子，一家中国商户销售假冒的Gucci包，每个价格为2至5美元，而每个订单至少为2000个。

The authentic Gucci bag retails for $795, the complaint said.

而这一Gucci包的正品价格为795美元，诉状中提到。

Alibaba has allowed for counterfeit sales to continue even when it had been expressly informed that merchants were selling fake products, the lawsuit said.

即使在被明确告知商家售假的情况下，阿里巴巴仍然允许继续售假，诉讼案称。

The lawsuit seeks a court order that, among other things, would block Alibaba from offering or facilitating the sale of counterfeit products and unspecified damages that could include $2 per counterfeit item under a statutory regime.

诉讼要求法院发布命令禁止阿里巴巴提供或协助假冒产品的销售，除此之外，还要求赔偿相关金额，其中可能包含法律规定的每件假冒产品赔偿2美元。

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来源:China Daily 双语版爱语吧作者:孙梦光