After Alibaba founder Jack Ma was quoted in a magazine as saying he would rather lose the case than settle, luxury brands suing Chinese e-commerce behemoth Alibaba Group Holding Ltd have asked a U.S. judge to be relieved of the obligation to mediate, which they say looks futile since the comment by Ma.
A suit accusing Alibaba of being a giant conduit for counterfeiters and alleging that China's U.S.-listed e-commerce leader had knowingly made it possible to sell fakes was filed in May in new York by luxury brands like Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent and other brands held by Paris-based Kering SA.
"I would [rather] lose the case, lose the money... But we would gain our dignity and respect," Ma, Alibaba's executive chairman, was quoted as saying in an article published late last week in the Forbes magazine which essentially mean that there no chance of settling the case.
Alibaba had requested mediation in the first place and hence the plaintiffs were "greatly troubled" by the comment. This was communicated to a judge at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in a letter by the lead lawyer said on November 6.
"It leaves the impression... that Alibaba's request for mediation was not made in good faith, but rather as a tactic to delay this case and to force Plaintiffs to expend resources spinning their wheels in an expensive and time-consuming mediation," said the letter reported Reuters.
The letter written to the judge by the lead lawyers of the case on behalf of the suitors said the plaintiffs "do not want to foreclose the possibility of mediation in the future, but right now mediation would appear to be a futile exercise".
Alibaba spokesman Bob Christie said Ma had made the comments prior to Kering agreeing to Alibaba's proposal to mediate.
"If they want to return to the path of litigation, instead of mediation, we will vigorously defend our legal rights and reputation," the spokesperson said in an email to the media.
There has been numerous allegations against Alibaba for years now that its online shopping sites are riddled with fake or otherwise copyright-infringing goods.
While confirming that it has taken and is taking all steps to adhere to the rules and regulations against counterfeiting, Alibaba says that it is constantly improving its monitoring and enforcement of rules. However critics of the company claim that Alibaba has not done nearly enough and fakes remain rampant.
While there has not been any indication of mediation, Judge Kevin Castle urged the parties to continue with mediation in response to the Kering request.
"Needless public comments can undermine talks. Yet public positions and positions in confidential talks have been known to vary... The Court strongly recommends that the parties proceed to mediation," he wrote in an order on Monday.
(Source:www.reuters.com)
A suit accusing Alibaba of being a giant conduit for counterfeiters and alleging that China's U.S.-listed e-commerce leader had knowingly made it possible to sell fakes was filed in May in new York by luxury brands like Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent and other brands held by Paris-based Kering SA.
"I would [rather] lose the case, lose the money... But we would gain our dignity and respect," Ma, Alibaba's executive chairman, was quoted as saying in an article published late last week in the Forbes magazine which essentially mean that there no chance of settling the case.
Alibaba had requested mediation in the first place and hence the plaintiffs were "greatly troubled" by the comment. This was communicated to a judge at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in a letter by the lead lawyer said on November 6.
"It leaves the impression... that Alibaba's request for mediation was not made in good faith, but rather as a tactic to delay this case and to force Plaintiffs to expend resources spinning their wheels in an expensive and time-consuming mediation," said the letter reported Reuters.
The letter written to the judge by the lead lawyers of the case on behalf of the suitors said the plaintiffs "do not want to foreclose the possibility of mediation in the future, but right now mediation would appear to be a futile exercise".
Alibaba spokesman Bob Christie said Ma had made the comments prior to Kering agreeing to Alibaba's proposal to mediate.
"If they want to return to the path of litigation, instead of mediation, we will vigorously defend our legal rights and reputation," the spokesperson said in an email to the media.
There has been numerous allegations against Alibaba for years now that its online shopping sites are riddled with fake or otherwise copyright-infringing goods.
While confirming that it has taken and is taking all steps to adhere to the rules and regulations against counterfeiting, Alibaba says that it is constantly improving its monitoring and enforcement of rules. However critics of the company claim that Alibaba has not done nearly enough and fakes remain rampant.
While there has not been any indication of mediation, Judge Kevin Castle urged the parties to continue with mediation in response to the Kering request.
"Needless public comments can undermine talks. Yet public positions and positions in confidential talks have been known to vary... The Court strongly recommends that the parties proceed to mediation," he wrote in an order on Monday.
(Source:www.reuters.com)
