14 DAY TRIAL // After news came out that a France-based company filed a lawsuit against the China’s most prolific e-commerce website, everyone was keen on hearing the accused side speak out.
But instead of coming forward to defend itself from the recurring accusations, the company sprang into action and quickly took some measures in the hope of appeasing the firestorm triggered by recent events.
It seems that the $5 million (€4.39 million) investment that Jack Ma’s company made at the beginning of the year in the Israeli startup called VisualLead is starting to show some fruitful results as the company unveiled the fancily referred to as dotless visual codes, Venture Beat reports.
The new codes come with several perks
Although they work pretty much like any regular QR codes, they have some extra traits that consumers are bound to benefit from.
For one thing, the most visible difference, which also makes them stand out from traditional codes, is the fact that they can embed images. So rather than seeing the black and white barcode, clients will enjoy colorful logos or pictures related to the product they are interested in.
But the benefits are not strictly related to the visual area, so the fact that you get to see fewer dots is not the only perk of the newly-introduced visual codes. Another more worthy aspect is that the codes can be used as a weapon in the battle against counterfeit goods commercialized on the platform.
So, when consumers scan the codes, they will have access to additional details on the product, as well as information regarding its genuineness. Each of the QR codes is unique, meaning that it can be used for one product only.
Furthermore, it is going to be impossible for retailers of counterfeit goods to bypass the system, as VisualLead also developed a secure scanner that will be used to read the codes.
This upgrade to its traditional QR codes might be exactly what the e-commerce company needs to calm spirits down and persuade luxury brands producers that it is actively working on stopping any illegal activities from taking place on the platform.