[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 163 (Thursday, August 24, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58055-58057]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-18201]


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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE

[Docket Number USTR-2023-0009]


2023 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) 
requests comments that identify online and physical markets to be 
considered for inclusion in the 2023 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 or facilitate substantial copyright piracy or 
trademark counterfeiting. The issue focus for the 2023 Notorious 
Markets List will examine the potential health and safety risks posed 
by counterfeit goods.

DATES: 
    October 6, 2023, at 11:59 p.m. ET: Deadline for submission of 
written comments.
    October 20, 2023, 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: http://www.regulations.gov (Regulations.gov). 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments in section III below. 
For alternatives to online submissions, please contact Jake Ewerdt at 
[email protected] or (202) 395-6862 before transmitting a 
comment and in advance of the relevant deadline.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jake Ewerdt, Deputy Assistant U.S. 
Trade Representative for Innovation and Intellectual Property, at 
[email protected] or (202) 395-6862. 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

[[Page 58056]]

reportedly engage in or 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 2023 Notorious Markets List 
will examine the potential health and safety risks posed by counterfeit 
goods.
    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 online markets that engage in or facilitate substantial 
counterfeiting:
     The domain name(s) of the market, the name(s) of the 
owner(s) or operator(s), the geographic area(s) where the market 
operates, and whether the market is owned, operated, or otherwise 
affiliated with a government entity.
     Estimate of the number of goods sold or otherwise made 
available on the market and any other indicia of the market's scale, 
reach, or relative significance in a given geographic area or with 
respect to a category of goods.
     Estimate of the number and types of goods sold or 
otherwise made available on the market that are counterfeit, either in 
aggregate or in relation to the total number and types of goods sold or 
otherwise made available on the market, a description of the 
methodology used to create the estimate and the timeframe the estimate 
was conducted, and information supporting the claims of counterfeiting.
     Estimate of economic harm to right holders resulting from 
the counterfeit goods and a description of the methodology used to 
calculate the harm.
     Whether the number and types of counterfeit goods or the 
economic harm has increased or decreased from previous years, and an 
approximate calculation of that increase or decrease for each year.
     Whether the counterfeit goods sold or otherwise made 
available on the market 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.
     Any actions taken by right holders, such as discussing 
concerns with the market, submitting takedown notices or requests to 
remove counterfeit goods, sending cease and desist letters, or 
requesting that the market enforce its terms of service or terms of 
use, and the outcome of these actions.
     Any actions taken by the market owners or operators to 
remove, limit, or discourage the availability of counterfeit goods, 
including policies to prevent or remove access to such goods, or to 
disable seller or user accounts, the effectiveness of market policies 
and guidelines in addressing counterfeiting, and the level of 
cooperation with right holders and law enforcement.
     Any other additional information relevant to the review.
    For online markets that engage in or facilitate substantial piracy:
     The domain name(s) of the market, the name(s) and 
location(s) of the hosting provider(s), the name(s) and location(s) of 
the owner(s) or operator(s), the geographic area(s) where the market 
operates, and whether the market is owned, operated, or otherwise 
affiliated with a government entity.
     Revenue sources such as sales, subscriptions, donations, 
upload incentives, or advertising, the methods by which that revenue is 
collected, and the entities that help facilitate the market's revenue.
     Description and estimate of economic harm to right holders 
resulting from piracy and a description of the methodology used to 
calculate the harm.
     Whether the number of pirated goods or files, or the 
economic harm, has increased or decreased from previous years, and an 
approximate calculation of that increase or decrease for each year.
     Any known contractual, civil, administrative, or criminal 
enforcement activity against the market and the outcome of that 
enforcement activity.
     Any actions taken by right holders, such as discussing 
concerns with the market, submitting takedown notices or requests to 
remove URLs or pirated content, sending cease and desist letters, or 
requesting that the market enforce its terms of service or terms of 
use, and the outcome of these actions.
     Any actions taken by the market owners or operators to 
remove, limit, or discourage the availability of 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 piracy, and the level 
of cooperation with right holders and law enforcement.
     Any other additional information relevant to the review.
    For physical markets that engage in or facilitate substantial 
counterfeiting or piracy:
     The market's name(s), street address, neighborhood or 
shopping district, city, and the identity of the principal owner(s) or 
operator(s).
     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 the market.
     Volume of counterfeit or pirated goods or services or 
other indicia of the market's scale, reach, or relative significance in 
a given geographic area or with respect to a category of goods or 
services.
     Description and estimate of economic harm to right holders

[[Page 58057]]

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.
     Additional actions taken by right holders, such as 
discussing concerns with the market, sending cease and desist letters, 
sending warning letters to landlords or requests to enforce the terms 
of their leases, 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, 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-2023-0009 in the search bar on 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'. You should provide comments in an 
attached document, and name the file according to the following 
protocol, as appropriate: Commenter Name or Organization_2023 Notorious 
Markets. Please include the following information in the `type comment' 
field: 2023 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.
    Please include the name, email address, and phone number of an 
individual who can be contacted if there are issues or questions with 
the submission. The contact information can be included in the 
submission or sent to Jake Ewerdt, Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade 
Representative for Innovation and Intellectual Property, at 
[email protected] or (202) 395-6862.
    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 2023 
Review of Notorious Markets for Counterfeiting and Piracy' in the 
`comment' field. Filers of comments containing BCI also must submit a 
public version. Begin the file name of the public version with the 
character `P'. USTR will place the non-business confidential version in 
the docket at Regulations.gov and it will 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 Jake Ewerdt at [email protected] or (202) 395-
6862.
    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-2023-0009 in the search field on the home 
page.

Daniel Lee,
Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Innovation and Intellectual 
Property, Office of the United States Trade Representative.
[FR Doc. 2023-18201 Filed 8-23-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3390-F3-P