Introduction
This month has seen the publication of the 2024 version of the Review of Notorious Markets for Counterfeiting and Piracy (the 'Notorious Markets List' (NML)), by the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR). The annual review presents a summary of key online and real-world markets found to be associated with brand infringements, specifically counterfeiting (trademark infringement) and piracy (copyright infringement)[1], and thereby highlighting key platforms and areas of focus for brand protection programmes depending on the type of brand owner and the kinds of infringements to which they are subjected. This year's report[2] also includes a specific focus on illicit online pharmacies, reflecting the significant risks posed by counterfeit medicines.
Overview
One of the key components of the report is the list of online platforms which have been repeatedly found to facilitate infringing activity. The sites in question fall into a number of key categories, which are outlined below (with the individual sites assigned into 'best-fit' categories). In cases where the platforms have a focus in a specific country, this is also referenced below, using its country code in square brackets.
- e-commerce platforms
- The platforms highlighted in the report are those which contribute specifically to the trade in counterfeit or otherwise infringing goods, through a lack of adequate mediating policies, monitoring and tools.
- Specific platforms:
- General marketplace and shopping platforms - Bukalapak (bukalapak.com) [ID], DHgate (dhgate.com) [CN], Douyin Shangcheng (Douyin Mall) [CN], IndiaMART [IN], Pinduoduo (pinduoduo.com) [CN], Shopee (shopee.com) [SG], Taobao (taobao.com) [CN]
- Classified advertisement site - Avito (avito.ru) [RU]
- 'Bulletproof' hosting providers
- These are Internet service providers offering web-hosting services for infringing sites, and which typically advertise their non-compliance to enforcement notices as a business model.
- Specific providers: Amarutu, DDoS-Guard (ddos-guard.net) [RU], FlokiNET [IS / Europe], Squitter (squitter.eu) [possibly NL], Virtual Systems (vsys.host) [UA]
- Cyberlockers
- These act as hosting and content storage sites for copyrighted digital content, and often facilitate file-sharing through linking and streaming sites. In many cases, they are incentivised to share popular content to drive web traffic, by virtue of their reliance on advertising revenue, and may also share revenue with contributors of popular material.
- Specific sites: 1fichier (1fichier.com) [FR], Baidu Wangpan [CN], Krakenfiles (krakenfiles.com), Libgen (libgen.rs, libgen.is, libgen.li, libgen.st, library.lol, libgen.rocks, libgen.gs, annas-archive.org, annas-archive.gs) [RU], Rapidgator (rapidgator.net, rg.to) [RU], Sci-Hub (sci-hub.se, sci-hub.ru, sci-hub.st, annas-archive.org, annas-archive.gs) [RU], Streamtape (streamtape.com) [FR]
- Torrent websites
- These are platforms providing access to copyrighted content which is available for download via the BitTorrent file-sharing protocol.
- Specific sites: 1337x (1337x.to, 1337x.tw), Rutracker (rutracker.org) [RU], ThePirateBay (thepiratebay.org), Torrent Galaxy (torrentgalaxy.to, torrentglaxy.mx [sic], torrentgalaxy.buzz, tgx.rs, tgx.sb) (BitTorrent streaming), YTS / YIFY (yts.mx) [BG]
- General piracy sites
- These offer the sharing of copyrighted content in other general senses, relying on (for example) associated cyberlockers for content hosting.
- Specific sites:
- Streaming services - GenIPTV (genip.tv), MagisTV (magistv.net, oficialmagistv.com, magistv.digital, magistv.la, magisla.com, magistvoficial.com, magistv-venezuela.com) [Latin America], Vegamovies (vegamovies.in, vegamovies.boo, vegamovies.ren) [IN]
- 'Stream-ripping' sites (circumventing the content-protection measures of other content providers) - SaveFrom (savefrom.net, savef.net, savefrom.live, savefrom.app, save-from.net, savefrom.best, save-from.biz), Y2mate (y2mate.com, yt1s.com)
- 'Repacking' site (providing access to compressed versions of digital files) - FitGirl-Repacks (fitgirl-repacks.site) (video games)
- General piracy - Cuevana (cuevana.biz, cuevana3.eu, cuevana3.ch, cuevana.pro, cuevana.si, cuevana4.me, cuevana3cc.me) [Latin America], HiAnime (hianime.to), Nsw2u (nsw2u.com, game-2u.com, ps4pkg.com, bigngame.com), Unknowncheats (unknowncheats.me) (offers download of game cheat codes, which may include copyrighted source code), VKontakte (VK) (vk.com) (social media) [RU], WHMCS Smarters (whmcssmarters.com, iptvsmarters.com) [IN]
- Pirate content management systems
- These provide libraries of infringing content, obtained through crawling and scraping of third-party data sources.
- Specific site: 2embed (2embed.cc)
It is worth noting that many of the providers referenced in the report are geared towards digital piracy, which remains a significant issue generally for rights owners. A 2024 report by the EUIPO estimates that piracy accounts overall for about ten Internet accesses per Internet user per month on average[3], and MUSO provides an estimate of around 229 billion visits to piracy sites in 2023[4], affecting predominantly the TV (104 B), publishing (64 B), film (30 B), music (17 B) and software (15 B) industries.
However, counterfeiting also remains a major problem, utilising both online and physical channels. The World Customs Organisation's Illicit Trade Report 2023 references 98 million items comprising intellectual property violations intercepted through over 48,000 seizures (excluding US data), dominated by accessories, clothing and footwear entering into the US, Europe, Chile and Mexico[5].
Furthermore, the Notorious Markets report includes information on key geographic markets of concern, where the trade in counterfeits may be addressable through effective on-the-ground or customs initiatives, border controls, and/or appropriate legislation. Specific reference is given to locations in South America (Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Paraguay, Peru) and the Far East (Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam), plus Canada, India, Kyrgyz Republic, Mexico, Russia, Türkiye (Turkey) and UAE.
Discussion and Conclusion
How representative is the information given in the NML? It is noteworthy that social-media platforms and many US-based marketplaces are essentially unrepresented in the report (apart from the inclusion of VK), despite the significant levels of activity observed across these channels - particularly on the various Meta platforms (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Threads), a concern echoed by other organisations such as the American Apparel & Footwear Association[6]. It is also significant that WeChat has been removed from the list (in favour of Douyin Mall, part of the ByteDance group) since the previous edition, in part due to the introduction of tools to deal with infringements. Taobao's continued appearance in the list remains (somewhat) controversial, particularly in view of the platform's increased engagement with rights holders and government, but many stakeholders continue to take the view that improvements to the site's process for reporting infringements are still required[7]. There is also a growth in commentary (particularly in China) that some elements of the list (notably the large numbers of inclusions of Chinese platforms) may be politically or commercially motivated[8,9], following similar comments the previous year[10].
In addition, commentary from the US Intellectual Property Owners Association (IPO)[11] stresses the continuing role of online marketplaces as a key channel type of interest, and mentions a number of additional platforms excluded from the list, but which continue to be of concern (AliExpress [CN], Facebook Marketplace, Noon [Middle East], Temu [CN] and - again - WeChat [CN]). There were also a number of other significant nominations for the NML (such as Shein and TikTok Shop) which failed to make the final edition[12]. It is also worth noting that the EU Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) provides resources relating to the IP protection programmes offered by a number of marketplaces with which they collaborate[13], and none of these (with the exception of the Alibaba Group, which includes Taobao) are included in the NML; this is perhaps an indication of the power of the provision of rights protection initiatives by marketplaces.
Overall, it would be beneficial to see a greater degree of consensus on the marketplaces and other platforms - and the associated geographical focuses - which should be included in the NML going forward. This would help inform relevant policies, and give brand owners a clearer view of where the main areas of concern actually are. It is worth noting that many of the platforms referenced will need to comply with new rules covered by the Digital Services Act (DSA)[14]; we are already starting to see the commencement of proceedings by the EU Commission against platforms which are key focuses of infringing activity, such as Temu[15,16] and Shein[17,18], both of which have been designated as Very Large Online Platforms under the DSA framework.
References
[4] https://www.muso.com/piracy-by-industry-report-2023
[6] https://www.fashiondive.com/news/meta-facebook-instagram-notorious-markets-counterfeit-list/729053/
[8] https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202501/1326622.shtml
[9] https://thebambooworks.com/douyin-in-wechat-out-of-latest-u-s-notorious-markets-piracy-list/
[10] https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202401/1306451.shtml
[11] https://ipo.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2024-IPO-Notorious-Markets-Comments.pdf
[15] https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_24_5622
This article was first published on 28 January 2025 at:
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