Co-authored by Huan Yang

Customers in China and around the world are increasingly looking for simpler, and cost-effective ways to buy technology. Along with the rapid development of the internet, purchasing online has become a standard practice essential to modern life. However, not without risk. Buyers need to be aware of the potential of receiving inferior and counterfeit products.

To tackle the counterfeiting issue, the Alibaba group set up the Alibaba Anti Counterfeiting Alliance  (AACA) in 2017 which combines Alibaba's capabilities with the knowledge, enforcement expertise and resources of brand owners.

To protect online marketplaces in China, Cisco joined AACA in 2021 partnering with Alibaba's Platform Governance group to raise awareness on the dangers of counterfeiting and hold counterfeiters accountable for their illegal practices.

Cisco's Global Brand Protection team includes an amazing squad of investigators and engineers who actively monitor the marketplace to identify sellers of counterfeit products and take steps to curb this problem.

As the guardian of Alibaba's ecosystem, Platform Governance is responsible for administering and, as necessary, improving the rules and policies governing business practices on online marketplaces; assessing the reliability and integrity of merchants; protecting intellectual property rights; and setting standards for the quality and safety of products sold on their marketplaces.

With product authenticity at the core of its mission, the Platform Governance team is committed to building a healthy intellectual property environment in the era of the digital economy, by cooperating with rights holders such as Cisco. Using brand knowledge and industry insights provided by rights holders, Alibaba proactively monitors its e-commerce platforms to manage the risks of infringing listings. It also cooperates with governmental bodies and trade associations, leveraging cutting-edge technology to assist in offline investigations.

"Alibaba is proud of the cooperation results achieved together with Cisco since joining the Alibaba Anti-Counterfeiting Alliance in 2021. Thanks to Cisco's excellent Brand Protection team and Alibaba's Technology, together we have greatly enhanced platform monitoring, and delivered important criminal offline raids. Cisco and Alibaba even took innovative steps to educate consumers about the importance of buying genuine products through the AACA Pop Up Museum and Dada Star Quiz." 

Mick Ryan, Director, Brand Cooperation, Alibaba Platform Governance

To increase awareness about the benefits of genuine products and let consumers join brands in the fight against counterfeits, the AACA Popup Museum was organized in Hangzhou from 11 to 13 March 2022. Cisco showcased genuine and counterfeit switches and transceivers, introduced customers to the importance of purchasing from Cisco Authorized Channels and introduced Brand Protection complimentary product authentication tools:

BuyRight: www.cisco.com/cn/buyright

Identify Counterfeit: www.cisco.com/cn/identifycounterfeit

Have questions?

Head over to our Brand Protection site to learn more about the dangers of unauthorized counterfeit products, as well as what you can do and what you can expect from Cisco and our partners.