Fakes can be better than the real thing? Don't buy it!

IN 2013, the World Customs Organisation reported that over 84 per cent of counterfeits seized originated from China. These counterfeits did not come only from the category of fashion products but also included such categories as pharmaceuticals that many would deem as potentially harmful to users. International AntiCounterfeiting Coalition (IACC), the watchdog for retail industry with over 250 members including Apple, Cisco Systems and Chanel, reported that the estimated value of cross-border trade on counterfeits is over US$1.7 trillion.

For several years, Alibaba's online marketplace Taobao - the largest Chinese online platform - has tolerated the selling of counterfeits. Under pressure from many luxury brands, Alibaba vowed to fight counterfeits by joining IACC in April. In doing so, Taobao was poised to become the first Chinese Internet retailer to join this new membership category designed for intermediaries.

However, the admission of Alibaba's membership prompted such brands as Michael Kors and Gucci to quit their IACC membership in May. Michael Kors protested with raw emotion that Alibaba is "our most dangerous and damaging adversary". At the same time, Gucci, along with other sister brands such as Balenciaga under the Kering Group, walked out because the group is suing Alibaba in the New York federal court. In its lawsuit, Kering Group accuses Alibaba of knowingly encouraging and profiting from the sale of counterfeits on Taobao. Under such intense protests, IACC suspended the membership of Alibaba Group barely a month later.