WASHINGTON – The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) last week released the 2023 Review of Notorious Markets for Counterfeiting and Piracy (Notorious Markets List). The 2023 Notorious Markets List identifies 39 online markets and 33 physical markets that are reported to engage in or facilitate substantial trademark counterfeiting or copyright piracy. This year’s Notorious Markets List also highlights the potential health and safety risks posed by counterfeit goods.
Since the release of this year’s Notorious Markets List, stakeholders across the labor, literary, music, movie, and apparel industries have commended USTR’s continued efforts to empower the creators and workers whose livelihoods depend on intellectual property protection and enforcement.
Read more about what they are saying:
Department for Professional Employees, AFL-CIO (DPE) President Jennifer Dorning:
“I applaud Ambassador Tai, USTR staff, and interagency partners for again highlighting the scourge of content theft through the 2023 Notorious Markets for Counterfeiting and Piracy report. Union professionals who are members of DPE’s affiliated unions in the arts, entertainment, and media industries depend on legitimate sales and licensing of the films, TV shows, music, and other works they help create for their collectively bargained pay and contributions to their health insurance and pension plans. The theft of this content harms every day creative professionals and the American economy as a whole by leading to annual losses in jobs and revenue in the creative industries.”
American Apparel & Footwear Association President and CEO Steve Lamar:
"USTR's Notorious Markets report plays in an important role by listing several platforms that profit from the growing digital devalue chain of counterfeits; an illicit web of misinformation and consumer deception deployed by nefarious individuals and criminal groups to promote and sell counterfeits on third-party social commerce and marketplace platforms."
Association of American Publishers Senior Vice President for Global Policy Lui Simpson:
“The publishing industry thanks USTR and the interagency for their work in protecting the intellectual property of publishers and authors, whose livelihoods depend on the protection and enforcement of their rights. The Notorious Markets report remains a critical tool for exposing online sites and marketplaces that traffic in infringing copies of books and journal articles. We very much appreciate your work, and the rest of the USTR and interagency team in promoting a strong copyright framework for publishers, authors, and other rightsholders.”
Motion Picture Association Chairman and CEO Charles Rivkin:
“On behalf of the Motion Picture Association, I extend my deepest appreciation to Ambassador Tai, the staff of USTR and their interagency partners for their tireless efforts to protect the global marketplace for digital content. The 2023 Notorious Markets List exposes the most egregious criminal operations that consistently violate copyright laws through the illegal distribution of intellectual property. This year, the MPA is grateful to see the inclusion of several notorious offenders we identified to USTR on the List, including specific Piracy-as-a-Service (PaaS) providers emerging as a growing concern. These PaaS providers cause untold damage to creators and consumers alike. Each year, the List underscores the need to protect the U.S. film, television, and streaming industry and the global creative community from the harms of copyright infringement. As the entertainment industry evolves and adopts new technologies at all levels of the ecosystem, so must our efforts to protect workers through effective copyright protection laws. The MPA applauds USTR’s vigilance and initiative in protecting the global creative marketplace from the dangers of digital piracy. And we are proud to stand by USTR to ensure that creativity and innovation in film and television continue to thrive.”
Recording Industry Association of America Senior Vice President, International Policy, George York:
“We thank Ambassador Tai, USTR and the interagency team for this critical report illustrating the multitude of illicit services that steal from American creators. These digital platforms and brick and mortar shops undermine the U.S. comparative advantage to the detriment of American workers and creators, causing significant financial losses and eroding the creative sector’s massive contributions to the U.S. economy – good jobs, wages, and growth. We appreciate the report’s prioritization of thefts that target the music community such as stream-ripping.”
Transnational Alliance to Combat Illicit Trade Director-General Jeffrey Hardy:
“USTR’s annual in-depth reviews drive change. Some platforms identified as a Notorious Market are responsive and engage in activities to improve their procedures. Others, however, tend to substitute public relations campaigns for meaningful improvements. So, while USTR notes some improvement, much more must be done to protect consumers, workers and legitimate businesses.”
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