Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group has appointed Matthew Bassiur as vice president, head of its global intellectual property enforcement. Bassiur currently serves as VP and deputy chief security officer at US drugmaker Pfizer. Starting next month, Bassiur will lead all international efforts to combat piracy and enforce intellectual property rights on Alibaba online marketplaces.
Bassiur’s appointment is in line with Alibaba’s efforts to fight counterfeits. Bassiur has spent much of his career overseeing large investigations into intellectual property and other crimes, including cyber crime and complex fraud and theft schemes. Between 2010 and 2012, he was senior director of the Americas region and counsel for intellectual property rights enforcement at Apple. Prior to joining Apple, he spent four years as a federal prosecutor in the Computer Crime & Intellectual Property Section of the US Department of Justice.
