Magazine: With data analytics against counterfeiting

Chinese market leader e-commerce company Alibaba uses data analysis to fight counterfeit products. In early January the Alibaba Group announced that the so-called Big Data Anti-Counterfeiting Alliance already has 20 members, including companies such as Dulux, Louis Vuitton, Swarovski, Trendy Group, DAZZLE, Shiseido, Bioderma, Amway, Mars, Pernod Ricard, Huawei, SUPOR, Joyoung, Sony, Samsung, Western Digital (Western Digital and SanDisk), Canon and Ford. The alliance uses data analytics, algorithms and artificial intelligence to combat the spreading of counterfeit goods.

Between April and July last year – in cooperation with the Chinese authorities – 332 people were arrested and USD 207 million worth of counterfeit goods were confiscated. The algorithm used by the alliance is capable of scanning 10 million new product listings a day. In one year it removed 380 million product listings and closed down 180,000 third-party seller stores. According to data from the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), Hungary loses HUF 217 billion in revenues a year due to counterfeiting. This results in 10,800 fewer jobs in the sectors concerned.

EUIPO was collecting data between March 2015 and September 2016 in all European Union member states. In the nine sectors examined 7.4 percent of the total revenue is lost because of counterfeiting, in the value of HUF 14,272 billion. According to the study, each year another HUF 10,455 billion is the damage caused by counterfeiting and piracy. At EU level counterfeit goods affect 500,000 jobs: these are either ended or not created because people buy fake products.