AliExpress and Alibaba IPP Platform: Fighting Counterfeits at the Source

A pet accessories brand finds its patented slow-feeder bowl on AliExpress under forty different listings, priced between $4 and $9 against its own $34. The photos are the brand's. Some listings use its name; others use "same as [brand]". On Alibaba.com, three factories offer the bowl at $1.80 per unit with a minimum order of 500, and one of them helpfully notes "can add your logo". Every Amazon and eBay counterfeit the brand has fought for two years traces back to these suppliers.

Marketplace takedowns in the West treat the symptoms. The source is here. Alibaba Group's Alibaba IPP platform (Intellectual Property Protection) is the single system through which rights holders report infringement across AliExpress, Alibaba.com, 1688.com, Taobao and Tmall. It is more bureaucratic than Amazon's or eBay's tools, and it rewards preparation, but used properly it removes listings at scale and, with persistence, suppliers. This guide covers registration, verification, complaint types, evidence and the escalation path to the factory floor.

What the IPP platform covers

The IPP platform (ipp.alibabagroup.com) is a single account for all Alibaba Group marketplaces:

Marketplace	Audience	Typical infringement
AliExpress	International retail buyers	Counterfeit retail listings, stolen photos, brand names in titles
Alibaba.com	International wholesale buyers	Factories and trading companies offering counterfeit or lookalike goods in bulk
1688.com	Chinese domestic wholesale	Same suppliers, Chinese-language listings; often the actual source
Taobao and Tmall	Chinese domestic retail	Counterfeits for the Chinese market

Rights holders can file complaints on any of these from one account once their rights are verified. Alibaba also operates additional programmes for high-volume rights holders, including a good-faith reporting tier with faster processing for accounts with a strong accuracy record.

Step 1 — Register and verify your rights

This is the stage where most brands stall. Alibaba requires documentary proof of each right before you can complain about it.

Account registration

Create an IPP account as a rights owner or an agent. You will provide identity documents: for a company, business registration certificates; for an individual, a passport or national ID; for an agent, a power of attorney from the rights owner. Documents in languages other than English or Chinese may need translation.

Rights submission

For each right you want to enforce, upload:

• Trademark: registration certificate from the relevant office. Alibaba accepts registrations from major offices worldwide (USPTO, EUIPO, UK IPO, WIPO, CNIPA and others). Pending applications are generally not accepted. A Chinese registration is not required for AliExpress and Alibaba.com complaints but is highly valuable for 1688 and Taobao and for any action against the supplier in China.
• Copyright: a registration certificate (US Copyright Office, Chinese copyright registration or other national registration) or, for unregistered works, evidence of authorship such as original files, publication records and a signed declaration. Registered copyright is approved much more smoothly.
• Patent: the granted patent document. Utility and design patents are both accepted; design patents are especially useful for product-shape copies.

Verification can take several days to a few weeks. In our experience, complete submissions with clear certificates are approved within about a week; anything ambiguous bounces back with a request for more documentation. Get this done before you have an urgent case, not during one.

Step 2 — Choose the complaint type

The IPP platform routes complaints by infringement type, and the evidence required differs:

• Trademark infringement (counterfeit): the listing offers goods bearing your mark that are not genuine. Strong evidence: a test purchase, or listing details that demonstrate counterfeiting (price, origin, obvious quality markers).
• Trademark infringement (unauthorised use): your mark appears in a title, description or image for goods that are not yours, including "same as", "compatible with" or "[brand] style" where the use goes beyond fair descriptive reference.
• Copyright infringement: your photographs, videos, artwork or text are used on the listing.
• Patent infringement: the product infringes your design or utility patent. For utility patents, Alibaba may require a claim chart or infringement analysis; design patents are easier to evidence with side-by-side images.

A listing that is a counterfeit using your photos can be reported under both trademark and copyright. We usually file both; if one is rejected the other often succeeds.

Step 3 — Build evidence that survives review

Alibaba's reviewers are thorough and sellers frequently contest complaints. Prepare:

• Listing URLs for every infringing product. On AliExpress these contain /item/<id>.html; on Alibaba.com /product-detail/. Record the seller or store name for each.
• Dated screenshots of each listing showing the images, title, price and seller.
• Side-by-side comparisons: your registered mark next to the mark on the listing; your photos next to theirs; your design patent drawings next to the product images.
• Test purchases for counterfeit claims where feasible. AliExpress makes this easy; keep order numbers and photograph the goods on arrival next to genuine units.
• Your registration certificates already uploaded and verified.

For copyright, include the DMCA declarations in your complaint narrative: "I have a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law" and "The information in this notification is accurate, and under penalty of perjury, I am the copyright owner or am authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed." The IPP platform is not formally a DMCA process, but the declarations do no harm and strengthen the record.

Step 4 — File and track complaints

From the IPP dashboard, create a complaint, select the verified right, choose the infringement type, paste the listing URLs (bulk submission is supported), attach evidence and submit. Alibaba notifies the seller, who has a short window to respond with a counter-argument or evidence of authorisation. Alibaba then decides.

In our experience:

• Complaints on clear counterfeits using a verified trademark are typically processed within a few business days, with listings removed.
• Copyright complaints with registered copyright are processed similarly; unregistered copyright takes longer and is contested more often.
• Patent complaints take longest and are the most frequently contested.

Rejections usually cite insufficient evidence or a seller's counter-evidence (a purported licence, a claim the product differs). Resubmit with the test purchase or a clearer comparison; in our experience a second, better-evidenced submission succeeds in most cases.

Repeated valid complaints trigger penalty points against the seller under Alibaba's rules, leading to listing restrictions, store downgrades and closure. A seller with many of your products across their store can be shut down with a single comprehensive filing.

Step 5 — Go upstream to the supplier

AliExpress retail listings are often operated by resellers buying from a factory on 1688 or Alibaba.com. Removing retail listings without touching the source is an endless cycle. To reach the source:

1. Identify the supplier. Alibaba.com store pages list the company name, often with a business licence and factory location. Match product photos and specifications across AliExpress, Alibaba.com and 1688 listings to find the common supplier.
2. File on Alibaba.com and 1688. The same IPP account covers both. 1688 complaints are in Chinese; a Chinese trademark registration helps considerably.
3. Use Alibaba's offline enforcement channels. For verified rights holders with repeat issues, Alibaba offers programmes to refer persistent infringers for administrative action in China.
4. Consider Chinese registration. A CNIPA trademark and, where relevant, a Chinese design patent make action against the factory itself possible through administrative complaints to local market supervision authorities and customs recordal to stop export. This is beyond the marketplace process, and our legal support and case evaluation team coordinates with Chinese counsel for clients who need it.

Keeping the pressure on

Counterfeit supply chains re-list constantly. The brands that win treat it as a programme:

• Weekly searches on AliExpress and Alibaba.com for your brand name, product names, model numbers and distinctive descriptors, in English and Chinese.
• Reverse image searches of your hero photos; AliExpress has an image search function that finds copies quickly.
• Bulk filing through the IPP dashboard as soon as new listings appear.
• Seller tracking so repeat sellers are reported as repeats.
• Downstream coordination: the same sellers appear on Amazon, eBay, Wish, Temu and Walmart. Report them everywhere on the same day. Our anti-counterfeiting solutions run this as a single programme.

The free AI Scanner runs the first two steps across marketplaces so you can see the scale of the problem before deciding how to resource it.

Common mistakes

• Filing before rights are verified. Nothing happens until the IPP account approves your documents.
• Relying on an unregistered trademark. Alibaba essentially requires registration. If you sell internationally, register.
• Filing counterfeit claims without any evidence of counterfeiting. Alibaba will ask how you know the goods are not genuine.
• Ignoring 1688. It is where the factories live, and complaints there have more effect on supply than any AliExpress removal.
• Treating a listing removal as the end. Track the seller and the supplier.

Doing it yourself or using an agent

Brands with in-house legal or brand protection staff can run the IPP platform themselves once rights are verified. The case for an agent: the document preparation and verification process, Chinese-language filings on 1688 and Taobao, test-buy logistics, the volume of listings, and coordination with Western marketplaces and Chinese counsel.

DMCA Master manages IPP accounts and filings for clients. We charge $100 per successfully removed URL or listing (no removal, no fee) or $10 per hour for ongoing protection with a dedicated specialist working 40 hours a week, billed weekly at $400, cancel any time. See our trademark monitoring service and pricing.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a Chinese trademark to use the Alibaba IPP platform? No. Registrations from major offices worldwide are accepted for AliExpress and Alibaba.com. A Chinese registration becomes important for 1688, Taobao and any action against suppliers in China.

How long does rights verification take? In our experience about a week for complete submissions; longer if documents are unclear or need translation.

How quickly are AliExpress listings removed after a complaint? Typically within a few business days for clear counterfeit or copyright cases with verified rights.

Can I report listings that say "same as [my brand]" or "[brand] style"? Often yes, as unauthorised trademark use, where the reference goes beyond fair description and is used to sell lookalikes. Evidence that the listing is drawing on your mark's reputation helps.

Can Alibaba shut down the factory? The marketplace can close the supplier's store. Action against the factory itself requires Chinese administrative or legal processes, for which Chinese IP registration is essentially a prerequisite.

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This article is general information about Alibaba Group's IP processes and not legal advice. If counterfeits of your product are being sold on AliExpress or supplied through Alibaba, request a free analysis and a specialist will map the listings and suppliers within 24 hours.