Amazon, eBay, Google slate notorious markets nominations
The US Trade Representative’s (USTR) annual counterfeiting and piracy report should not “target” US companies, according to the Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA).
In a submission to the USTR, the association claimed that the inclusion of US internet companies in the upcoming list would be “inconsistent with the report’s purpose and contrary to the underlying statutory authority for the special 301 process”.
The special 301 report on notorious markets identifies trading partners that do not adequately or effectively protect and enforce IP rights.
This year, the USTR has said it will focus on examining the use of e-commerce platforms and other third-party intermediaries that facilitate the importation of counterfeit and pirated goods into the US.
Companies that CCIA represents—including Amazon, eBay, Google and Twitter—have been nominated by industry organisations for the list.
While the CCIA didn’t focus in-depth on the accusations against its members, it did state that US internet services companies continue to “devote significant resources to improving existing measures, as well as deploying new tools, to address counterfeits and infringement online”.
It added: “In addition to extensively collaborating and consulting with brand owners, these companies have created programs that encourage information sharing between all stakeholders to strengthen enforcement.”
According to the association, in addition to “straying beyond the purposes” of the report, the targeting of US companies would exceed the USTR’s mandate.
“It is difficult to reconcile how an agency with a mandate that is narrowly focused on international trade could use its resources and authorities to examine and criticise US companies’ business practices,” added the CCIA.
Both Facebook and Amazon, other members of CCIA, have submitted their own rebuttals to their nominations on the notorious markets list.
According to Facebook, the list should not be “misused to target US companies, particularly US companies that have developed and advanced industry-leading best practices to protect IP”. The social media company went on to outline its own IP protection measures.
Amazon, meanwhile, said that it “has never been and will never be a notorious market”. The platform added that several of its international stores were wrongfully included in the 2019 notorious markets list as a result “of politically motivated animus”.
Did you enjoy reading this story? Sign up to our free daily newsletters and get stories sent like this straight to your inbox
