2020 Review of Notorious Markets for Counterfeiting and Piracy: Comment Request, 62006-62008 [2020-21723]

Agencies

• Office of the United States Trade Representative

[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: https://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.

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     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