USTR Seeks Input on Notorious Markets for IPR Infringement

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is requesting written submissions by 30 September (rebuttal comments are due by 15 October) to aid in the preparation of its 2019 Notorious Markets List. Notorious markets are Internet and physical markets based outside the United States that reportedly engage in or facilitate substantial copyright piracy and trademark counterfeiting. According to USTR, written comments should be as detailed as possible and clearly identify the market and the reasons why it should be included. Commenters should include the following information as applicable.

• for physical markets, name and location

• for on-line markets, domain name (past and present), available registration information, name(s) and location(s) of hosting provider(s) and operator(s), volume of associated Internet traffic and revenue sources (sales, subscriptions, advertising, etc.)

• whether the market is owned, operated or otherwise affiliated with a government entity

• types of counterfeit or pirated products or services sold, traded, distributed or otherwise made available

• volume of counterfeit or pirated goods or services or other indicia of a market’s scale, reach or relative significance in a given geographic area or with respect to a category of goods or services

• estimates of economic harm to rights holders resulting from the piracy or counterfeiting and a description of the methodology used to calculate the harm

• whether the volume of infringing goods or estimates of harm have increased or decreased from previous years and an approximate calculation of that change for each year

• whether the infringing goods or services pose a risk to public health or safety

• any known contractual, civil, administrative or criminal enforcement activity against the market and the outcome of that activity

• additional actions taken by rights holder against the market and the outcome of those actions

• additional actions taken by the market owners or operators to remove, limit or discourage the availability of counterfeit or pirated goods or services; the effectiveness of market policies and guidelines in addressing counterfeiting and piracy; and the level of co-operation with right holders and law enforcement