Lex专栏：淘宝如何摆脱“恶名”困扰？

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”也许对某些中国企业是一个合适的口号。从奢侈品制造商到投资银行，全球品牌常常发现自己的知识产权在中国遭到窃取和抄袭。

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.

话虽如此，近几个月来，宝马(BMW)和前篮球运动员迈克尔•乔丹(Michael Jordan)等知识产权所有者取得小胜利，似乎表明上述趋势正在改变。但显然不包括阿里巴巴(Alibaba)。周三，美国政府将这家纽约上市的在线集市运营商旗下的淘宝网(Taobao)再度列入“恶名市场”黑名单，此前四年淘宝逃过入榜的命运。

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.

阿里巴巴对这一决定大喊冤枉，表示自上次入榜以来，其知识产权保护和打假措施都已改善，并称此举背后存在政治动机。或许如此。追究全球知名度最高的中国企业之一是得分的一种方式，但这种手法听上去更像是即将上任的特朗普政府会动用的战术。

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.

诚然，此举的象征意义大于实质。虽然阿里巴巴有国际野心，但它没有值得报告的海外销售，这并不是说它与美国贸易没有联系。许多美国企业——从亚马逊(Amazon)到特斯拉(Tesla)——都使用阿里巴巴的网站将产品销往中国。那些网站上群集了10万个品牌，假货并未吓阻品牌拥有者，没多少人有底气抵制全球最大市场内的全球最大在线集市。

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.

阿里巴巴一直在试图解决假货问题，来自美国的压力起了帮助作用。美国服装行业游说团体——美国服装和鞋类协会(American Apparel & Footwear Association)去年的投诉，无疑激励阿里巴巴作出努力，使2016年淘宝主动下架的侵权产品数量翻了一倍。

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.

但话说回来，反对假货仍然是站得住脚的，即使它是出于政治目的也不例外。如果中国要夺取其在贸易战争中的制高点，它需要更加努力，可以从建立自己的可信的打假战略入手。美国和英国等国家有这样的战略，它们值得“抄袭”。