File photo. (REUTERS/Aly Song)
BEIJING – The owner of fashion brands Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent has accused Alibaba Group in a lawsuit of profiting from sales of counterfeit goods despite the Chinese e-commerce giant's pledge to combat the trade in fakes.
The lawsuit filed by France's Kering SA and a group of its brands in a New York court is a setback for Alibaba's effort to reassure companies and regulators it is taking effective action to keep counterfeit goods off its online sales platforms.
Alibaba said it believes the complaint has "no basis" and said the company will fight it. In a statement, Alibaba said it has a "strong track record" of cooperating with brands to protect their intellectual property.
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