[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 175 (Thursday, September 10, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54651-54652]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-22761]


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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE

[Docket No. USTR-2015-0016]


2015 Special 301 Out-of-Cycle Review of Notorious Markets: 
Request for Public Comments

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.

ACTION: Notice of request for public comments.

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SUMMARY: The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) 
requests written comments from the public identifying Internet and 
physical markets based outside the United States that should be 
included in the 2015 Notorious Markets List. In 2010, USTR began 
publishing the Notorious Markets List separately from the annual 
Special 301 Report as an ``Out-of-Cycle Review.'' The Notorious Markets 
List (List) identifies online and physical marketplaces that reportedly 
engage in and facilitate substantial copyright piracy and trademark 
counterfeiting.

DATES: The deadline for interested parties to submit written comments 
is 11:59 p.m. (EDT) on October 5, 2015. Interested parties who wish to 
provide rebuttal or other information to be considered during the 
review may do so through this docket until 11:59 p.m. (EDT) on October 
12, 2015.

ADDRESSES: All written comments should be filed electronically via 
www.regulations.gov, Docket Number USTR-2015-0016, and be consistent 
with the requirements set forth below. When filing a submission, please 
include the phrase ``2015 Out-of-Cycle Review of Notorious Markets'' in 
the ``Type Comment'' field.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Christine Peterson, Director for 
Intellectual Property and Innovation, Office of the United States Trade 
Representative, at [email protected]. Information on the Special 
301 Review, including the Notorious Markets List, is available at 
www.ustr.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

1. Background

    The United States is concerned with trademark counterfeiting and 
copyright piracy on a commercial scale because they cause significant 
financial losses for rights holders, legitimate businesses, and 
governments, undermine critical U.S. comparative advantages in 
innovation and creativity to the detriment of American workers, and 
potentially pose significant risks to consumer health and safety as 
well as privacy and security. The List identifies select online and 
physical marketplaces that reportedly engage in or facilitate 
substantial copyright piracy and trademark counterfeiting.
    Beginning in 2006, USTR identified notorious markets in the annual 
Special 301 Report. In 2010, pursuant to the Administration's 2010 
Joint Strategic Plan on Intellectual Property Enforcement, USTR 
announced that it would begin publishing the List as an Out-of-Cycle 
Review, separately from the annual Special 301 Report. USTR published 
the first such List in February 2011. USTR develops the annual List 
based upon public comments solicited through the Federal Register and 
in consultation with other 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 and counterfeiting to adopt business 
models that rely on the licensed distribution of legitimate content and 
products and to work with rights holders and enforcement officials to 
address infringement. We also encourage responsible government 
authorities to intensify their efforts to investigate reports of piracy 
and counterfeiting in such markets, and to pursue appropriate 
enforcement actions.
    The List does not purport to reflect findings of legal violations, 
nor does it reflect the United States Government's analysis of the 
general intellectual property rights (IPR) protection and enforcement 
climate in the country or countries concerned. For an analysis of the 
IPR 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.

2. Public Comments

a. Written Comments

    USTR invites written comments from the public concerning examples 
of Internet and physical notorious markets, including foreign trade 
zones that allegedly facilitate substantial trademark counterfeiting 
and copyright piracy. Commenters are requested to support their 
nominations with the information listed in Section 2.b.

b. Requirements for Comments

    To receive full consideration, written comments should be as 
detailed as possible. Comments must clearly identify the market and the 
reason or reasons why the commenter considers that the market should be 
included in the Notorious Markets List.

[[Page 54652]]

    Commenters are strongly encouraged to include the following 
information, as applicable:
     If a physical market, 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;
     if an online market, the domain name(s) past and present, 
available registration information, and name(s) and location(s) of the 
hosting provider(s);
     whether the physical or online 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 in or at that market;
     volume of transactions in counterfeit or pirated goods or 
services or other indicia of a market's scope, scale, or reach or 
relative significance in a given geographic area or with respect to a 
category of goods or services; if an online market, information on the 
volume and type of Internet traffic associated with the Web site, 
including number of visitors, number of page views, average time spent 
on the site by visitors, estimate of the number of infringing items 
sold or traded and number of files streamed, shared, seeded, leeched, 
downloaded, uploaded, or otherwise distributed or reproduced, and 
global or country popularity rating (e.g., Alexa rank);
     if an online market, revenue sources such as sales, 
subscriptions, donations, upload incentives or advertising and the 
methods by which that revenue is collected;
     estimates of economic harm to the rights holder resulting 
from the piracy or counterfeiting and a description of the methodology 
used to calculate the harm;
     whether the 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 effectiveness of that 
enforcement activity;
     additional actions taken by the market owners or operators 
to remove, limit or discourage the availability of counterfeit or 
pirated goods or services, including removing or disabling access to 
such goods or services, issuing and enforcing guidelines prohibiting 
the posting of such goods or services, or cooperating in enforcement 
efforts; and
     any additional information relevant to the review.

c. Instructions for Submitting Comments

    Comments must be in English. To ensure the timely receipt and 
consideration of comments, USTR strongly encourages commenters to 
submit comments electronically, using the www.regulations.gov Web site. 
To submit comments via www.regulations.gov, enter Docket Number USTR-
2015-0016 on the home page and click ``Search.'' The site will provide 
a search-results page listing all documents associated with this 
docket. Find the reference to this notice and click on the link 
entitled ``Comment Now!.'' For further information on using the 
www.regulations.gov Web site, please consult the resources provided on 
the site by clicking on ``How to use Regulations.gov'' at the bottom of 
the home page under ``Help.''
    The www.regulations.gov Web site allows users to provide comments 
by filling in a ``Type Comment'' field, or by attaching a document 
using an ``Upload File'' field. USTR prefers that comments be provided 
in an attached document. If a document is attached, please type ``2015 
Out-of-Cycle Review of Notorious Markets'' in the ``Type Comment'' 
field. USTR prefers submissions in Microsoft Word (.doc) 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. File names should reflect the name of the person or 
entity submitting the comments. Please do not attach separate cover 
letters to electronic submissions; rather, 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.
    A person requesting that information contained in a comment 
submitted by that person be treated as confidential business 
information must certify that such information is business confidential 
and would not customarily be released to the public by the submitter. 
In the document, confidential business information must clearly be 
designated as such; the submission must be marked ``BUSINESS 
CONFIDENTIAL'' on the cover page and each succeeding page, and the 
submission should clearly indicate, via brackets, highlighting, or 
other means, the specific information that is business confidential. 
Additionally, the submitter should type ``Business Confidential 2015 
Out-of-Cycle Review of Notorious Markets'' in the ``Type Comment'' 
field. Anyone submitting a comment containing business confidential 
information must also submit, as a separate submission, a non-business 
confidential version of the submission, indicating where the business 
confidential information has been redacted. The file names of both 
documents should reflect their status--``BC'' for the business 
confidential version and ``P'' for the public version. The non-business 
confidential version will be placed in the docket at 
www.regulations.gov and be available for public inspection.
    As noted, USTR strongly urges commenters to submit comments through 
www.regulations.gov. Any alternative arrangements must be made in 
advance of transmitting a comment and in advance of the relevant 
deadline by contacting USTR at [email protected].

3. Inspection of Comments

    Comments received will be placed in the docket and open to public 
inspection pursuant to 15 CFR 2006.13, except business confidential 
information exempt from public inspection in accordance with 15 CFR 
2006.15. Comments may be viewed free of charge by visiting 
www.regulations.gov and entering Docket Number USTR-2015-0016 in the 
``Search'' field on the home page.

Probir Mehta,
Acting Assistant United States Trade Representative (AUSTR) for 
Intellectual Property and Innovation, Office of the United States Trade 
Representative.
[FR Doc. 2015-22761 Filed 9-9-15; 8:45 am]
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