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14 October 2020TrademarksSarah Morgan

Trump moves to penalise e-commerce sites over counterfeits

US President Donald Trump has ordered law enforcement to develop a legislative proposal aimed at holding e-commerce companies accountable for counterfeit good sales.

In the memorandum, shared yesterday, October 13, Trump directed the Homeland Security secretary and the attorney general to focus law enforcement efforts on e-commerce platforms involved in counterfeit trafficking.

“E-commerce platforms serve as key contributors to counterfeit trafficking by acting as intermediaries and providing marketplaces that match up buyers and sellers,” said the memo.

Now, the Trump administration has advised law enforcement that they should pursue legislation that would “clarify and strengthen the executive branch’s authority and increase its resources to deter and address counterfeit trafficking on e-commerce platforms”.

The memo added that law enforcement should consider taking all appropriate measures, including the imposition of the maximum fines and civil penalties permitted by law on any e-commerce platform that “directs, assists with, or is in any way concerned in the importation into the US of counterfeit goods”.

The Homeland Security secretary and the attorney general will need to develop a legislative proposal within 120 days of the date of the memo.

Trump has focused on cracking down on the online sale of counterfeit goods, particularly those from China, throughout his presidency.

Earlier this year, in February, Trump signed an executive order targeting both the sellers of counterfeit goods and the e-commerce platforms they pass through.

One of Trump’s targets, Amazon, has accused the US government of pursuing a “personal vendetta” after it was included in the US Trade Representative’s (USTR) “2019 Review of Notorious Markets” for counterfeit goods.

In a statement, an Amazon spokesperson said the company “strongly disagrees” with USTR’s assessment, adding: “This purely political act is another example of the administration using the US government to advance a personal vendetta against Amazon.”

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