How to Report Counterfeit Products on Alibaba and AliExpress

Counterfeits on Alibaba Group's marketplaces are removed through an IP Protection Platform (IPP), but there are two of them. The Alibaba International IPP at ipp.aidcgroup.net handles AliExpress, Alibaba.com, Lazada and Miravia. The Taobao and Tmall Group IPP handles Taobao, Tmall, 1688 and the other Chinese domestic sites. On both, you verify who you are and which registered right you own, then submit the listing URLs with evidence that they infringe.

This guide maps each marketplace to its platform, then walks through what counts as infringement, the evidence to prepare, the filing steps, review times and the reasons complaints fail. Each section links to a detailed guide for one marketplace or one stage of the process.

Which Alibaba marketplace uses which platform

Alibaba split its single IP protection platform in two in 2023. The FAQ on the Taobao and Tmall side dates the split to October 31, 2023. Accounts created before that date still work on both platforms. New accounts must be registered on each platform separately, and a password change on one does not carry over to the other.

Marketplace	Type	Where to report	Platform address
AliExpress	Cross-border retail	Alibaba International IPP	ipp.aidcgroup.net
Alibaba.com	Business-to-business wholesale	Alibaba International IPP	ipp.aidcgroup.net
Lazada	Retail in Southeast Asia	Alibaba International IPP	ipp.aidcgroup.net
Miravia	Retail in Spain	Alibaba International IPP	ipp.aidcgroup.net
Taobao, Tmall, Tmall Global	Chinese domestic retail	Taobao and Tmall Group IPP	ipp.alibabagroup.com (redirects to ipp.taobao.com)
1688	Chinese domestic wholesale	Taobao and Tmall Group IPP	ipp.alibabagroup.com
Xianyu	Chinese second-hand marketplace	Taobao and Tmall Group IPP	ipp.alibabagroup.com

One exception matters for Europe and Russia: AliExpress.ru is a separate operating company. The international IPP rejects AliExpress.ru links and points rights holders to AliExpress Russia's own intellectual property page instead.

Our guide to the two Alibaba IP Protection Platforms explains the accounts, languages and differences in detail.

What Alibaba's platforms consider an infringement

Both platforms accept complaints based on trademarks, copyrights, patents and design rights, plus a few other rights such as portrait rights and geographical indications where the law protects them. The seller rules on AliExpress and Alibaba.com separate two levels of trademark infringement:

• Serious violations. A mark identical or very similar to a registered trademark, used on the same kind of product. This is what a counterfeit usually is.
• General violations. Other unauthorized uses of a trademark, for example a brand name in the title of an unbranded product.

The distinction matters for sellers. On both AliExpress and Alibaba.com, three serious trademark violations can lead to account closure, while general violations carry no penalty the first time, then 6 points per repeat, with termination at 48 points. On AliExpress, violations stay on the seller's record for 365 days.

What evidence you need

Every IPP complaint rests on three things: proof of who you are, proof of the right you own, and proof that a specific listing infringes it.

• Identity. For a company, a business license or registration certificate. For an individual, a passport, national ID card or driver's license. The name must match the name on the account exactly.
• The registered right. A registration certificate for each trademark, copyright or patent. Pending applications are not accepted. Unregistered copyright can be claimed with the platform's Copyright Claim Statement.
• Authorization, if you are an agent. A letter of authorization signed by the rights holder that covers online IP enforcement.
• The listings. The full URL of each listing, the seller or store name and a dated capture of the page.
• Proof of infringement. What shows the product is not genuine: a comparison with your product, a test purchase, a product you never made, or a logo that was blurred or removed.

Our IPP evidence checklist lists every document with the format each platform expects.

The official reporting procedure

The Alibaba International IPP offers three channels. The IPP account is the main one: it stores your verified rights, lets you submit up to 300 links per complaint and shows each case's history. The online form is meant for occasional reports of no more than 50 listings per submission. Email to aidc-ipr@alibaba-inc.com is intended for rights holders who plan to seek remedies from courts or authorities after the takedown.

The Taobao and Tmall Group IPP works the same way, with its own account, its own verification and its own complaint reasons. It also restricts who can act as an agent: since January 2024, only lawyers, law firms and rights-protection agencies can register as authorized agents. The Taobao, Tmall and 1688 guide covers those rules.

How to report a counterfeit, step by step

1. Pick the right platform. Use the table above. If the same copy is on AliExpress and Taobao, you will need two accounts and two complaints.
2. Register with a shared email address. The registration email becomes the login ID and cannot be changed, so use an address such as enforcement@yourcompany.com rather than a person's inbox.
3. Verify your identity. Upload the business license or photo ID, and fill in two sets of contact details: one that is shown to sellers you report, and one that only Alibaba sees.
4. Verify at least one right. Under My IPR, submit each trademark, copyright or patent separately with its certificate. The account stays locked until your identity and one right are verified.
5. Collect the evidence. Save the listing URLs, page captures and your proof that the items are not genuine.
6. Submit the complaint. Choose Complaint Submission, then Submit a Complaint, select the marketplace, the type of right, the verified right and the reason (for example Counterfeit). Add your explanation and attachments, paste the URLs, click Verify Listings, then submit.
7. Keep the case number. Every complaint gets one, and Alibaba needs it for any follow-up.
8. Watch for counter-notices. Check Manage Complaints regularly and answer any seller response within the period stated in the notification.

Each marketplace has its own details: see the step-by-step guides for AliExpress, Alibaba.com suppliers and Lazada and Miravia.

How long Alibaba takes to review a complaint

The international IPP gives estimates rather than guarantees. Identity and rights verification takes about three working days once both sets of documents are in, and complaint review generally takes three to five working days. After a complaint is accepted, the seller has up to three opportunities to appeal, and each review takes as long as the case requires.

Some listings are not removed at once because the platform is waiting for a seller's supporting materials. The status in Manage Complaints is the most reliable way to follow a case.

Common reasons complaints are rejected

• The right is not verified or not valid there. Pending applications are refused, and rights are territorial: a trademark must be valid in the country where the listing is offered. For Taobao, Tmall and 1688 trademark complaints, only marks registered in mainland China can be selected. Our guide to registering a trademark in China explains why many brands file there first.
• The wrong reason. A copied photo reported as a counterfeit, or a lookalike without your brand reported as a trademark counterfeit.
• No objective basis. A low price or a customer comment is rarely enough. Explain what differs from your product, ideally after a test purchase.
• Links that fail validation. More than 300 links, incomplete URLs, listings already removed, or links already under another complaint.
• An expired or changed right. When a registration expires, the IPP marks it as failed until you upload proof of renewal.

If a seller files a counter-notice and the platform accepts it, the listing stays online unless you rebut it in time. Our guide to rejected complaints and counter-notices explains how to respond.

After a takedown: stores, repeat sellers and legal action

A listing complaint removes listings, not sellers. The platforms penalize the seller behind a successful complaint under their own rules, and repeated serious violations can end in account closure, but you do not control that outcome. If a whole store is built on your brand, the international IPP asks you to email a store infringement complaint to aidc-ipr@alibaba-inc.com with the serial number of the verified right.

If you plan to sue, the international IPP can disclose limited registration details about a seller after a successful takedown. You apply by email from your IPP account address, with the complaint number and a signed Commitment Letter stating that the information is only for legal action. Alibaba may ask for proof, and it may refuse later requests if you did not pursue the earlier cases. This is general information, not legal advice: talk to counsel before you start proceedings.

The limits of reporting by hand

The IPP is efficient once your account is set up, but it only acts on the URLs you give it. Finding those URLs is the slow part. Copies of the same product often appear on AliExpress, several Alibaba.com supplier pages and other marketplaces at once, frequently with your brand name removed and only your product photos kept. Sellers relist after a removal, and the two IPP accounts keep separate histories.

Neither platform tells you whether the same copy is also sold on Amazon, Temu or a regional store, and neither keeps your evidence in one record across marketplaces. For context on why copies reach these platforms, see does Alibaba sell fake products.

How Valigard can help before you report

Valigard searches marketplaces worldwide, including AliExpress, Alibaba.com and Lazada, with your official product photos, so it finds listings that reuse them even when your brand name is not in the title. For each listing you mark as likely counterfeit, it keeps the URL, a saved and timestamped copy of the page, the price and the seller's details. Its reporting guides for AliExpress and Alibaba.com list what to have ready, and it prepares report text you can paste into the IPP form.

Valigard does not send reports: you file on the IPP, then log the status and case number so your team knows which listings were reported, removed or relisted. Valigard does not determine with legal certainty that a product is counterfeit, and it cannot guarantee that Alibaba will remove a listing.