Lex專欄：淘寶如何擺脫“惡名”困擾？

Fake it until you make it might be an apt slogan for some Chinese companies. Global brands from luxury goods makers to investment banks have frequently found their intellectual property stolen and copied in China.

“假冒直至你成功”也許對某些中國企業(yè)是一個合適的口號。從奢侈品制造商到投資銀行，全球品牌常常發(fā)現(xiàn)自己的知識產(chǎn)權在中國遭到竊取和抄襲。

Still, in recent months, small victories for IP owners such as BMW and ex-basketball player Michael Jordan have suggested the trend is turning. Not at Alibaba, apparently. On Wednesday, the US government put the Taobao website of the New York-listed online marketplace operator back on its blacklist of “notorious markets” after four years in the clear.

話雖如此，近幾個月來，寶馬(BMW)和前籃球運動員邁克爾•喬丹(Michael Jordan)等知識產(chǎn)權所有者取得小勝利，似乎表明上述趨勢正在改變。但顯然不包括阿里巴巴(Alibaba)。周三，美國政府將這家紐約上市的在線集市運營商旗下的淘寶網(wǎng)(Taobao)再度列入“惡名市場”黑名單，此前四年淘寶逃過入榜的命運。

Alibaba is crying foul over the decision. It says that its IP protections and anti-counterfeit measures have improved since it was last listed, and that politics are behind the move. Maybe so. Taking to task one of China’s most globally-recognised companies is one way to score a point but it sounds more like a tactic for the incoming Trump administration.

阿里巴巴對這一決定大喊冤枉，表示自上次入榜以來，其知識產(chǎn)權保護和打假措施都已改善，并稱此舉背后存在政治動機。或許如此。追究全球知名度最高的中國企業(yè)之一是得分的一種方式，但這種手法聽上去更像是即將上任的特朗普政府會動用的戰(zhàn)術。

For sure, the move is more symbolic than substantive. Although Alibaba has international ambitions, it has no overseas sales worth reporting. That is not to say the company has no connection to US trade. Numerous American companies — from Amazon to Tesla — have used Alibaba’s sites to sell goods into China. These host 100,000 brands. Fakes do not deter the owners. Few can afford to boycott the world’s biggest online marketplace in the world’s biggest market.

誠然，此舉的象征意義大于實質(zhì)。雖然阿里巴巴有國際野心，但它沒有值得報告的海外銷售，這并不是說它與美國貿(mào)易沒有聯(lián)系。許多美國企業(yè)——從亞馬遜(Amazon)到特斯拉(Tesla)——都使用阿里巴巴的網(wǎng)站將產(chǎn)品銷往中國。那些網(wǎng)站上群集了10萬個品牌，假貨并未嚇阻品牌擁有者，沒多少人有底氣抵制全球最大市場內(nèi)的全球最大在線集市。

Alibaba has been trying to fix the problem. Pressure from the US helps. Complaints last year from US clothing industry lobbying group, American Apparel & Footwear Association, no doubt spurred efforts that have doubled the number of removals of infringing listings in 2016.

阿里巴巴一直在試圖解決假貨問題，來自美國的壓力起了幫助作用。美國服裝行業(yè)游說團體——美國服裝和鞋類協(xié)會(American Apparel & Footwear Association)去年的投訴，無疑激勵阿里巴巴作出努力，使2016年淘寶主動下架的侵權產(chǎn)品數(shù)量翻了一倍。

Still, the objection to fake goods remains valid, even if it is being used for political ends. If China is to strengthen its hand in the trade war, it needs to try harder. It could start by having its own credible strategy against counterfeiting. Countries such as the US and UK do. They are worth copying.

但話說回來，反對假貨仍然是站得住腳的，即使它是出于政治目的也不例外。如果中國要奪取其在貿(mào)易戰(zhàn)爭中的制高點，它需要更加努力，可以從建立自己的可信的打假戰(zhàn)略入手。美國和英國等國家有這樣的戰(zhàn)略，它們值得“抄襲”。