Chinese e-commerce firms will now be responsible for policing the sale of counterfeit goods on their websites.
Buying fake goods is part and parcel of life in China but the market for counterfeit products looks set to dip in 2019. Popular e-commerce websites, such as Alibaba’s Taobao online shop, will now be held legally responsible for policing the sale of copycat merchandise on their platforms after a new law came into force this month. The legislation, which is aimed at tackling China’s reputation for knockoffs, is welcome news for intellectual-property owners at home and abroad but consumer pressure could also be behind the move: complaints last year about fake Dyson hairdryers led to a co-ordinated crackdown before Christmas. China’s middle-class shoppers increasingly want the real thing and react angrily to being ripped off.