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piracy

Combatting Copyright Infringement on AliExpress: A Personal Guide for Artists

September 8, 2024 by Graeme MacKay
AliExpress Piracy  Part 1  |  Part 2  |  Part 3  |  Part 4   |  Part 5  | Part 6 | Fight Back

If you’re a successful artist selling original designs on platforms like Redbubble, encountering counterfeit versions of your work online is all too common. These unauthorized reproductions often trace back to AliExpress, a major marketplace for counterfeits. As an artist who has fought this battle firsthand, I can tell you that addressing piracy on AliExpress is challenging but essential.

AliExpress presents itself as an IP-friendly platform, but navigating its reporting system is tedious. Nevertheless, the system is an artist’s best tool for reclaiming their work from counterfeiters. Here is my step-by-step guide based on personal experience for navigating the AliExpress reporting process and protecting your intellectual property.

My Experience With Counterfeiters on AliExpress

In the first four weeks after I discovered that my designs were being pirated, I took action. To my disbelief, I found around 112 of my original designs being sold across the AliExpress marketplace, mostly printed on t-shirts, socks, and baseball caps. To add insult to injury, some of my artwork appeared on more unusual products like tapestries, blankets, women’s gowns, and even underwear. Every piece I had painstakingly created was being exploited.

What was perhaps most infuriating was the speed with which these counterfeiters worked. I would report products, have the links taken down, and within days, new listings featuring the same designs would spring up on different items. It became clear that this was not going to be a one-time fix. To date, I’ve filed nearly 650 complaints, each one carefully tracked in a detailed spreadsheet I use to monitor the offending sellers. Every complaint has been acted upon, with the infringing links removed.

Some pirates were particularly egregious, repeatedly stealing my work to the point that their stores amassed so many violations that they should have surpassed AliExpress’s threshold for removal. In theory, AliExpress is supposed to permanently shut down a seller’s account after they receive enough penalty points. However, I have not yet seen any concrete evidence that this measure has been followed through. Business Licences on each numbered store front reveals human sounding names and quaint physical sounding stores in various megalopolis’ deep in China. Further investigation in the complaint process reveals another code number used by AliExpress to identify Sellers.  Despite this, after weeks of work and hours scouring the site with creative keyword searches, it seems AliExpress is now void of my designs. It’s a small victory, but one that came only after relentless effort.

Step-by-Step Guide to Reporting Copyright Infringement on AliExpress

Step 1: Create an Account
* Go to the Intellectual Property Protection (IPP) section on Alibaba’s website.
* Click on “Register” and fill in your email.
* Activate your account through the link sent via email.

Step 2: Verify Your Identity
1. Choose your region and select “Individual Outside Mainland China.”
2. Provide your full legal name and mailing address (a P.O. box works fine if you’re uncomfortable providing your home address).
3. Upload a scan of your government-issued ID (passport or driver’s license).
4. Submit and wait for verification, which typically takes several days.

Step 3: Submit Your Intellectual Property Rights (IPR)
* After identity verification, log in and click “IPR submission.”
* Select “Copyright” as the type of IPR.
* Enter the title of your design and, if you don’t have formal copyright registration, type “N/A” or “Not required in [your country].”
* Upload a screenshot of your original work and a URL to where it is officially sold (such as Redbubble).
* Submit the documents for verification (this usually takes 2-3 business days).

Step 4: Submit a Complaint
Once your IPR is authenticated, you can begin filing complaints:
1. Log in and click “Submit a Complaint.”
2. Paste the URLs of infringing products or search for them manually.
3. Select “Pirated copy” as the reason and briefly explain, e.g., “This is a counterfeit version of my original work.”
4. Submit and check the Manage Complaints section to track the status of each submission.

The Impact of Filing Complaints
What I’ve learned is that persistence pays off. Filing complaints can result in the removal of infringing listings and, if sellers accumulate enough points, their store accounts are supposed to be shut down. AliExpress uses a points system where sellers receive 6 penalty points per complaint, and after 48 points (eight strikes), their account is meant to be terminated.

While I haven’t seen clear evidence of store terminations for repeat offenders, the removal of hundreds of infringing listings has helped clear the marketplace of my designs. Some sellers who were particularly prolific in pirating my work now seem to be gone, but whether this was due to AliExpress’s enforcement or the sellers simply closing their stores remains unclear.

Best Practices for Monitoring and Filing Complaints

1. Keep meticulous records: Use a spreadsheet to track every counterfeit listing you find. This makes it easier to monitor repeat offenders and streamline the complaint process.
2. Avoid contacting sellers directly: Reporting through AliExpress’s IPP system is far more effective. Direct contact can tip off sellers before formal action is taken.
3. Report consistently: Counterfeiters will re-upload your designs, so regular monitoring is necessary.

Final Thoughts: The Fight Continues
While AliExpress has responded to all of my complaints and removed infringing URLs, the process is ongoing. Despite filing hundreds of complaints, new listings would often reappear within days, requiring continued vigilance. My designs may no longer be visible on the site now, but that victory came only after weeks of dogged persistence. For artists facing similar challenges, the key is to stay organized, report consistently, and not lose hope.

Together, through persistent reporting and by sharing our experiences, we can continue to combat this digital piracy and reclaim the creative work that rightfully belongs to us.
The threat of account removal is a very strong disincentive, and my hope is that counterfeiting activity will decrease over time as a result.
If we all work together, we can make life better for artists everywhere!

Posted in: Cartooning Tagged: 2024-16, Alibaba, AliExpress, counterfeit, intellectual property, piracy

Wednesday May 17, 2017

May 16, 2017 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday May 17, 2017

Disney hack: Ransom demanded for stolen film

Disney CEO Bob Iger told ABC employees about the demand at a town hall meeting on Monday, The Hollywood Reporter said.

He did not name the film, but Deadline reports that it is Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales.

Mr Iger said Disney is refusing to pay, and that the studio is working with federal investigators.

He added that the hackers had demanded the ransom in bitcoin and that they would release the film online in a series of 20-minute chunks unless it was paid.

It is not the first film studio to be threatened with online leaks.

Last month, a group of hackers uploaded the fifth season of Orange is the New Black after Netflix refused to pay a ransom.

Dead Men Tell No Tales is the fifth instalment of the Pirates franchise and will see Johnny Depp’s Captain Jack Sparrow return to the ocean alongside Geoffrey Rush and Orlando Bloom.

It is due to be released in cinemas in the US on 26 May.

Mark James, security specialist at IT security company ESET, said: “Anything that has a value will always be a potential victim of theft, either digital or physical. If someone has it and someone wants it then in theory there’s a market for it.” (Source: BBC)

 

Posted in: Entertainment, International Tagged: attack, Caribbean, computer, cyber, Disney films, Editorial Cartoon, hacker, Hollywood, internet, Jack Sparrow, piracy, pirate, ransom, Walt Disney

Friday January 20, 2012

January 20, 2012 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hmilton Spectator – Friday January 20, 2012

Wikipedia limits service in anti-piracy act protest

Some of the best-known sites on the internet, including Wikipedia, are limiting access today in a “Dark Wednesday” protest against legislation before the U.S. Congress intended to curb copyright infringement that critics say will limit the scope of the web and adversely affect legitimate websites.

Popular Canadian sitesjoining the protest include Tucows, a Toronto-based site that hosts free software for download, Identi.ca, a social microblogging service and the blog of University of Ottawa law professor Michael Geist, an oft-cited expert on copyright issues.

There are two similar bills addressing protection of intellectual property online currently being considered by Congress: the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), which is before the House of Representatives judiciary committee, and the Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA), which is to be voted on by the Senate next week.

Last weekend, the White House signaled its opposition to the bills, which are supposed to make it easier for copyright holders to go after “foreign rogue websites” suspected of facilitating infringement of copyright.

Under the current draft of SOPA, courts could order credit card firms, online payment companies like PayPal and advertising networks to stop doing business with those websites. They could also order search engines to stop linking to them and internet service providers (ISPs) to block their customers from accessing them, although in recent days, the lead sponsor of SOPA, Republican congressman Lamar Smith, has backed off the ISP provision. PIPA was also being revised to address some of the concerns voiced in recent days. (Source: CBC News) 

 

Posted in: International Tagged: Capitol, copyright, dome, infringement, intellectual, internet, net, neutrality, Pipa, piracy, property, sopa, USA, Wikipedia

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