Some people don't want an authentic Rolex - like Lady Gaga, who annoyed some and amused many with this tweet-on-arrival in Bangkok in May, 2012. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development and the European Union's Intellectual Property Office say the annual value of counterfeit goods is as much as US$500 billion, or about 2.5% of global imports. Recently, the Office of the US Trade Representative added the Alibaba Group marketplace Taobao.com to its list of "notorious marketplaces" for counterfeit goods. To put Alibaba's size in context, almost 80% of all Chinese internet transactions are through Alibaba online properties. Given that 63% of all fake goods originate in China, Alibaba has a big problem, one with global implications.

Source: Bangkok Post February 07, 2017 22:08 UTC