Kodak joins hands with Alibaba to fight against counterfeits

To ride the heat of ecommerce, traditional camera brand Kodak has teamed up with Alibaba Group in a new business venture, using high technology to fight fake goods being traded online.Named eApeiron, the company was created primarily from certain assets of Eastman Kodak Company, in addition to an investment from Alibaba Group.eApeiron's leadership team includes founder, chairman and CEO Charles Fernandez, and Jeff Clarke, CEO of Eastman Kodak Company, who will serve as vice chairman.Based in Miami, Florida, the new company will set up its research, engineering and manufacturing arms within Kodak’s business park in Rochester, New York. Some research will also take place in Shanghai and Tel Aviv.Fernandez said the new company will be a game-changer for the e-commerce industry."No validation is stronger than the partnership of leaders in the imaging technologies and e-commerce space. We look forward to leading the growth of science and technology in the rapidly accelerating field of e-commerce."Fake and pirated products globally accounted for almost a half-trillion dollars in 2013, according to a report this year by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), with 84% of seized goods originating in China and Hong Kong.