Washington, D.C. –United States Trade Representative Michael Froman today announced the findings of the Special 301 Out-of-Cycle Review of Notorious Markets for 2013, which identifies markets around the world that harm American businesses and undermine our workers, through the infringement of intellectual property rights (IPRs). This annual review identifies both online and physical marketplaces engaging in commercial-scale IPR infringement. The publication of the Notorious Markets report helps the United States and foreign governments to prioritize enforcement of the intellectual property rights that protect job-supporting innovation and creativity in the United States and around the world.
“According to a U.S. Commerce Department study released in 2012, America’s innovative and creative industries support roughly $775 billion in merchandise exports annually and 40 million jobs here at home. The markets we have identified unfairly take from these American workers, diminishing the value and salability of their work and threatening their jobs. And some of the counterfeit goods sold in the identified physical markets, from medicines and personal care products to automotive parts, can even threaten the health and safety of consumers. The marketplaces identified here warrant the immediate attention of our trading partners,” said Ambassador Froman.
The Out-of-Cycle Review of Notorious Markets identifies particularly infamous markets, and does not constitute an exhaustive list of all markets dealing in pirated or counterfeit goods around the world. Nor does it reflect the United States Government’s analysis of the general IPR protection and enforcement climate in the country concerned; such analysis is contained in the annual Special 301 Report issued at the end of April. However, the United States urges the responsible authorities to intensify efforts to combat piracy and counterfeiting, and to use the information contained in the Notorious Markets Review to pursue legal actions where appropriate.
To read the full report, which includes examples of previously-identified Notorious Markets that have taken meaningful steps to address piracy and counterfeiting, click here.
BACKGROUND
USTR has identified notorious markets in the Special 301 Report since 2006. In 2010, USTR announced that it would begin to publish the Notorious Markets List separately from the Special 301 Report to increase public awareness and guide related trade and other enforcement actions. USTR published the first stand-alone Notorious Markets List in February 2011 as an “Out-of-Cycle Review of Notorious Markets,” and has published a list for every year since.
Today’s announcement concludes the 2013 Out-of-Cycle Review of Notorious Markets, which was initiated on September 20, 2013, through publication in the Federal Register of a request for public comments. The Notorious Markets List was developed by the U.S. Government agencies represented on the USTR-chaired Special 301 Subcommittee of the Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC). The request for comments and the public’s responses can be viewed online at www.regulations.gov, Docket number USTR-2013-0030. Information about Special 301, the TPSC process, and other trade issues is available at www.ustr.gov.
