Alibaba names Head of Global Intellectual Property Enforcement
Alibaba Group Holding Limited has appointed Matthew Bassiur as Vice President, Head of Global Intellectual Property Enforcement, effective January 2016.
In this new role, Mr Bassiur will lead a team that works with international brands and retail partners, industry associations, government regulators, law enforcement and other organizations to advance Alibaba Group’s anti-counterfeiting and IP rights protection efforts. He will report to Michael Evans, President of Alibaba Group.
“Matthew’s appointment is the latest step in Alibaba Group’s comprehensive and industry-leading efforts to fight counterfeits,” said Jack Ma, Executive Chairman of Alibaba Group.
“Counterfeiting is a problem that challenges all forms of distribution, whether in e-commerce or offline retail. We will continue to be relentless in our long-term commitment to protect both consumers and intellectual property rights owners, and we call on all companies in our industry to join our fight against bad actors,” Mr Ma added.
Mr Bassiur joins Alibaba Group from Pfizer Inc., where he served as the Vice President and Deputy Chief Security Officer. He oversaw Pfizer’s anti-counterfeiting operations, large-scale investigations into criminal activity, physical security and crisis management for North, Central and South America. Prior to Pfizer, he was Senior Director, Americas Region, and Counsel for IPR Enforcement at Apple, where his responsibilities included building and overseeing an investigative program into complex thefts, frauds, leaks, threats and cyber-related crimes, as well as developing and implementing Apple’s civil, criminal, and administrative anti-counterfeiting program.
Prior to joining Apple, Mr Bassiur was a federal prosecutor in the Computer Crime & Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS) of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), where he prosecuted large-scale, multi-jurisdictional IP crimes and coordinated domestic and international IP enforcement training and outreach. During his tenure with the DOJ, Mr Bassiur also served as the Intellectual Property Liaison to Industry for his section.
From 1998 to 2006, as an assistant district attorney in the Trial Division under Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau, Mr Bassiur specialised in investigations and prosecution of New York’s trademark counterfeiting industry and Asian organised crime.
Mr Bassiur was a United States Fulbright Scholar and, under the Fulbright Specialist Program, taught Intellectual Property law at Renmin University in Beijing, China. He earned his J.D. from the University of Virginia, School of Law in 1998 and was inducted into the Order of the Coif. In 2007, he was the recipient of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Award for Distinguished Service as a Federal Government Official for his work in the field of IP investigations, prosecutions, education and outreach.
“Matthew makes a great addition to the Alibaba team. His expertise in IP rights protection, policy creation and enforcement, as well as his deep familiarity with China, will complement our dedicated IPR enforcement team in China and help us to continue to globalise as a company, working with our brand, industry and government partners worldwide,” said Mr Evans.
Alibaba Group leads the industry in the fight against counterfeiting and protecting intellectual property rights. Alibaba’s success is dependent on consumers having a positive shopping experience on its platforms. In the latest quarter ended September 30, 2015, Alibaba reported 386 million annual active shoppers on its China retail marketplace platforms, an increase of 19 million from the prior quarter. The company employs a broad range of strong measures to maintain the integrity of its marketplaces, including consumer protection funds and strict policies against illegitimate listings and poor quality merchants, ensuring that consumers continue to have a peace of mind when they shop on Alibaba’s platforms.
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