Online sellers plagued by fake complaints

China's e-commerce giant Alibaba says more than 200,000 online sellers were almost wrongly punished for fake complaints.

The figures released by Alibaba's intellectual property complaint center showed that appeals from more than 200,000 online retailers were upheld last year, after the original complaint was found to be false.

"The wrong complaints were attributed to fake reports, or some customers allegedly got refunds by providing fake materials to prove products they bought were problematic," Gu Jun, from Alibaba, said.

"The customers made the reports using counterfeit identity cards, and at the same time, they contacted online shops to ask them to pay them, or else they would not cancel the report," Gu said. "In other words, they made use of our report system to ask for compensation."

He regarded the behavior as damaging to the platform, as well as the online stores.

Ye Zhifei, chief of Alibaba's IP center, said that it is planning to clarify reports, hoping to effectively distinguish fake complaints from real ones.

"We are considering asking those who said they bought fake products to provide more evidence, in an effort to ensure our online shops' rights and avoid unnecessary disputes," Ye added.

Du Ying, a professor of IP rights at the Central University of Finance and Economics in Beijing, applauded the plan, saying better protection for sellers is a necessity.

Li Shunde, a professor of law and IP rights at Chinese Academy of Sciences, agreed with Du, saying that it is urgent to purify the online environment, taking measures to fight against those getting profits by fake reports.

Zhang Taolve, a professor at Tongji University, added that the government should play its role in keeping the e-commerce platform in order instead of relying on the enterprise itself to handle it.