US adds WeChat, AliExpress to list of piracy markets

The United States has added WeChat's e-commerce ecosystem and AliExpress, an e-commerce site owned by Alibaba, to an annual list of markets that it says engage in counterfeiting and copyright violations.

 "The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) today released the findings of its 2021 Review of Notorious Markets for Counterfeiting and Piracy (the Notorious Markets List). The Notorious Markets List highlights online and physical markets that reportedly engage in or facilitate substantial trademark counterfeiting or copyright piracy," the United States Trade Representative (USTR) said in a statement on Thursday. 

US Trade Representative Katherine Tai said the global trade in counterfeit and pirated goods undermines critical U.S. innovation and creativity and harms American workers. 

"This illicit trade also increases the vulnerability of workers involved in the manufacturing of counterfeit goods to exploitative labor practices, and the counterfeit goods can pose significant risks to the health and safety of consumers and workers around the world." 

Reflecting the Biden-Harris Administration's worker-centered trade policy, the 2021 Notorious Markets List's issue focus section examines the adverse impact of counterfeiting on workers involved with the manufacture of counterfeit goods. The section describes how the illicit nature of counterfeiting requires coordination between relevant actors in order to effectively uncover and combat labor violations in counterfeiting operations across the globe.

The 2021 Notorious Markets List also identifies 42 online markets and 35 physical markets that are reported to engage in or facilitate substantial trademark counterfeiting or copyright piracy. 

"This includes identifying for the first time AliExpress and the WeChat e-commerce ecosystem, two significant China-based online markets that reportedly facilitate substantial trademark counterfeiting. Also, China-based online markets Baidu Wangpan, DHGate, Pinduoduo, and Taobao continue to be listed, as well as nine physical markets located within China that are known for the manufacture, distribution, and sale of counterfeit goods," the USTR said.

USTR first identified notorious markets in the Special 301 Report in 2006. Since February 2011, USTR has published annually the Notorious Markets List separately from the Special 301 Report, to increase public awareness and help market operators and governments prioritize intellectual property enforcement efforts that protect American businesses and their workers.