Well, this is awkward: after Amblin deal, Taobao still has pirated Spielberg stuff

Image credits: UN climate change, Wikimedia.

Earlier this week in what my colleague Terence called a deal of Jurassic proportions, Alibaba’s film arm Alibaba Pictures linked up with Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Partners in a deal that gives Alibaba the right to market, distribute, and merchandise Amblin’s films in China, as well as participate in their financing. It also gets Alibaba Pictures a minority stake in Amblin and a seat on its board.

But despite the deal, pirated and unlicensed versions of Amblin DVDs, CDs, and other merchandise are still easy to find on Alibaba’s Taobao C2C ecommerce platform. A quick search by Tech in Asia found numerous probably-pirated items, like a Schindler’s List DVD for less than US$3 (pictured below), or a Jurassic World DVD for US$2.

Even on the global version of the site, one can find Jurassic Park logo shirts for under US$5, or the Saving Private Ryan soundtrack for under US$1, among other apparently unlicensed items.

In a statement provided to Tech in Asia, Alibaba responded:

More than 100,000 brands have businesses on Alibaba’s platforms – a testament to our success, as well as the trust companies and consumers have in our marketplaces. We routinely collaborate with brands, associations and regulators to maintain the integrity of our marketplaces. Our recent USTR submission describes our steadfast efforts to fight counterfeiters online and the sources of such production offline. It also reflects our very strong commitment towards intellectual property rights protection.

This news comes amidst Alibaba’s ongoing battle with the American Apparel & Footwear Association, which told the US Trade Representative (USTR) earlier this month that Alibaba should be put back on the US government’s Notorious Markets list. In response, last week Alibaba sent a letter to the US Trade Representative saying that it has taken down 380 million product listings and closed 180,000 Taobao stores over the past year in its battle against counterfeiters. It also says it has made it easier for brands to submit complaints and request product removals when they find unlicensed copies of their products.

“At Alibaba, counterfeit goods are absolutely unacceptable,” Alibaba’s letter read. “We do not tolerate or condone those who steal other people’s intellectual property.”

But, the letter admits, “any marketplace with over a billion and a half listings and over seven million merchants operating at any given time will have some number of counterfeit listings.”