Violations outlined in the report include copyright piracy and trademark counterfeiting.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative on Thursday released its annual report on how physical and online markets overseas are managing intellectual property rights enforcement, a problem that costs global shippers billions of dollars a year in lost profits and business.
Violations outlined in the report include copyright piracy and trademark counterfeiting.
“The theft we’re shining a light on today is detrimental not only to creators and inventors, but also to consumers, who may be deceived and even endangered by notorious markets engaging in counterfeiting and piracy,” said U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman in a statement. “Our commitment to underscore the protection of intellectual property rights has produced real results, and today’s action is another important part of that effort.”
USTR’s Out-of-Cycle Review of Notorious Markets report identifies the biggest markets of this fraud, such as China. However, the report does not offer an exhaustive list of all markets involved in piracy or counterfeit goods. The U.S. government reserves its deeper IPR protection and enforcement analysis for the Special 301 Report, which will be released in late April.
The Out-of-Cycle Review provides examples of companies that have taken action to clean up their IPR violations.
“The results from the past Notorious Markets report are very encouraging,” said Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Robert Holleyman. “In a short time we have seen a real effort by private and public entities to take action against serious offenders and we have seen businesses that resisted change for years turn the corner toward legitimate commerce. The success of our campaign to shine a light on thieves as well as on misguided sites has been exciting to see. Sites that want to be taken seriously reform and those that don’t are being shuttered.”
The full 25-page report may be viewed on the USTR website.
USTR highlights ‘notorious’ IPR-violating markets
