2020 Review of Notorious Markets for Counterfeiting and Piracy: Comment Request
| Published date | 01 October 2020 |
| Citation | 85 FR 62006 |
| Record Number | 2020-21723 |
| Section | Notices |
| Court | Trade Representative Office Of The United States |
Federal Register, Volume 85 Issue 191 (Thursday, October 1, 2020)
[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 191 (Thursday, October 1, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62006-62008]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-21723]
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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
[Docket Number USTR-2020-0035]
2020 Review of Notorious Markets for Counterfeiting and Piracy:
Comment Request
AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.
ACTION: Request for comments.
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SUMMARY: The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR)
[[Page 62007]]
requests comments that identify online and physical markets to be
considered for inclusion in the 2020 Review of Notorious Markets for
Counterfeiting and Piracy (Notorious Markets List). The Notorious
Markets List identifies examples of online and physical markets that
reportedly engage in and facilitate substantial copyright piracy or
trademark counterfeiting. The issue focus for the 2020 Notorious
Markets List will examine the use of e-commerce platforms and other
third-party intermediaries to facilitate the importation of counterfeit
and pirated goods into the United States.
DATES: November 8, 2020 at 11:59 p.m. ET: Deadline for submission of
written comments. November 22, 2020 at 11:59 p.m. ET: Deadline for
submission of rebuttal comments and other information USTR should
consider during the review.
ADDRESSES: You should submit written comments through the Federal
eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov (Regulations.gov).
Follow the instructions for submitting comments in section III below.
For alternatives to online submissions, please contact Jacob Ewerdt at
Notorious [email protected] or (202) 395-4510 before transmitting a
comment and in advance of the relevant deadline.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jacob Ewerdt, Director for Innovation
and Intellectual Property, at Notorious [email protected] or (202)
395-4510. You can find information about the Special 301 Review,
including the Notorious Markets List, at www.ustr.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
The United States is concerned with trademark counterfeiting and
copyright piracy on a commercial scale because these illicit activities
cause significant financial losses for right holders, legitimate
businesses, and governments. In addition, they undermine critical U.S.
comparative advantages in innovation and creativity to the detriment of
American workers, and can pose significant risks to consumer health and
safety and privacy and security. Conducted under the auspices of the
Special 301 program and the authority of the U.S. Trade Representative
to address practices that have significant adverse impact on the value
of U.S. innovation, the Notorious Markets List identifies examples of
online and physical markets that reportedly engage in and facilitate
substantial copyright piracy or trademark counterfeiting that infringe
on U.S. intellectual property (IP).
Beginning in 2006, USTR identified notorious markets in the annual
Special 301 Report. In 2010, USTR announced that it would publish the
Notorious Markets List as an Out-of-Cycle Review, separate from the
annual Special 301 Report. USTR published the first Notorious Markets
List in February 2011. USTR develops the annual Notorious Markets List
based upon public comments solicited through the Federal Register and
in consultation with Federal agencies that serve on the Special 301
Subcommittee of the Trade Policy Staff Committee.
The United States encourages owners and operators of markets
reportedly involved in piracy or counterfeiting to adopt business
models that rely on the licensed distribution of legitimate content and
products and to work with right holders and enforcement officials to
address infringement. USTR also encourages foreign government
authorities to intensify their efforts to investigate reports of piracy
and counterfeiting in such markets, and to pursue appropriate
enforcement actions. The Notorious Markets List does not purport to
reflect findings of legal violations, nor does it reflect the U.S.
Government's analysis of the general IP protection and enforcement
climate in the country or countries concerned. For an analysis of the
IP climate in particular countries, please refer to the annual Special
301 Report, published each spring no later than 30 days after USTR
submits the National Trade Estimate to Congress.
II. Public Comments
USTR invites written comments concerning examples of online and
physical markets that reportedly engage in and facilitate substantial
copyright piracy or trademark counterfeiting that infringe on U.S.
intellectual property. USTR also invites written comments for the
Notorious Markets List `issue focus' that highlights an issue related
to the facilitation of substantial trademark counterfeiting or
copyright piracy. The issue focus for the 2020 Notorious Markets List
will examine the use of e-commerce platforms and other third-party
intermediaries to facilitate the importation of counterfeit and pirated
goods into the United States. The rapid growth of e-commerce platforms
has helped fuel the growth of counterfeit and pirated goods into a half
trillion-dollar industry. This illicit trade has an enormous impact on
the American economy by eroding the competitiveness of American
workers, manufacturers and innovation.
To facilitate the review, written comments should be as detailed as
possible. Comments must clearly identify the market and the reasons why
the commenter believes that the market should be included in the
Notorious Markets List. Commenters should include the following
information, as applicable:
For physical markets:
The market's name and location, e.g., common name, street
address, neighborhood, shopping district, city, etc., and the identity
of the principal owners/operators.
For online markets:
The domain name(s) past and present, available
registration information, and name(s) and location(s) of the hosting
provider(s) and operator(s).
Information on the volume of internet traffic associated
with the website, including number of visitors and page views, average
time spent on the site, estimate of the number of infringing goods
offered, sold, or traded and number of infringing files streamed,
shared, seeded, leeched, downloaded, uploaded, or otherwise distributed
or reproduced, and global or country popularity rating (e.g., Alexa
rank).
Revenue sources such as sales, subscriptions, donations,
upload incentives, or advertising and the methods by which that revenue
is collected.
For physical and online markets:
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 at that market.
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 right holders resulting from
the piracy or counterfeiting and a description of the methodology used
to calculate the harm.
Whether the volume of counterfeit or pirated goods or
estimates of harm has increased or decreased from previous years, and
an approximate calculation of that increase or decrease for each year.
Whether the infringing goods or services sold, traded,
distributed, or made available 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
enforcement activity.
[[Page 62008]]
Additional actions taken by right holders against the
market such as takedown notices, requests to sites to remove URLs or
infringing content, cease and desist letters, warning letters to
landlords and requests to enforce the terms of their leases, requests
to providers to enforce their terms of service or terms of use, and the
outcome of these actions.
Additional actions taken by the market owners or operators
to remove, limit, or discourage the availability of counterfeit or
pirated goods or services, including policies to prevent or remove
access to such goods or services, or to disable seller or user
accounts, the effectiveness of market policies and guidelines in
addressing counterfeiting and piracy, and the level of cooperation with
right holders and law enforcement.
Any other additional information relevant to the review.
III. Submission Instructions
All submissions must be in English and sent electronically via
Regulations.gov. To submit comments, locate the docket (folder) by
entering the docket number USTR-2020-0035 in the `Enter Keyword or IP'
window at the Regulations.gov homepage and click `search.' The site
will provide a search-results page listing all documents associated
with this docket. Locate the reference to this notice by selecting
`notice under `document type' on the left side of the search-results
page, and click on the link entitled `comment now!' You should provide
comments in an attached document, and name the file according to the
following protocol, as appropriate: Commenter Name or Organization_2020
Notorious Markets. Please include the following information in the
`type comment' field: 2020 Review of Notorious Markets for
Counterfeiting and Piracy. USTR prefers submissions in Microsoft Word
(.docx) or Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) format. If the submission is in another
file format, please indicate the name of the software application in
the `type comment' field. For further information on using
Regulations.gov, please select `how to use Regulations.gov' on the
bottom of any page.
Please do not attach separate cover letters to electronic
submissions. Instead, include any information that might appear in a
cover letter in the comments themselves. Similarly, to the extent
possible, please include any exhibits, annexes, or other attachments in
the same file as the comment itself, rather than submitting them as
separate files.
For any comment submitted electronically that contains business
confidential information (BCI), the file name of the business
confidential version should begin with the characters `BCI'. Any page
containing BCI must be clearly marked ``BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL'' on the
top of that page and the submission should clearly indicate, via
brackets, highlighting, or other means, the specific information that
is business confidential. A filer requesting business confidential
treatment must certify that the information is business confidential
and that they would not customarily release it to the public.
Additionally, the submitter should type `Business Confidential 2020
Review of Notorious Markets for Counterfeiting and Piracy' in the
`comment' field.
Filers of comments containing BCI also must submit a public version
of their comments. The file name of the public version should begin
with the character `P'. The non-business confidential version will be
placed in the docket at Regulations.gov and be available for public
inspection.
As noted, USTR strongly urges submitters to file comments through
Regulations.gov. You must make any alternative arrangements in advance
of the relevant deadline and before transmitting a comment by
contacting Jacob Ewerdt at Notorious [email protected] or (202) 395-
4510 before transmitting a comment and in advance of the relevant
deadline.
USTR will post comments in the docket for public inspection, except
properly designated BCI. You can view comments on Regulations.gov by
entering docket number USTR-2020-0035 in the search field on the home
page.
Daniel Lee,
Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Innovation and Intellectual
Property (Acting), Office of the United States Trade Representative.
[FR Doc. 2020-21723 Filed 9-30-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3290-F0-P
