The Indian markets in the list are IndiaMART, Heera Panna in Mumbai, Kidderpore in Kolkata, Sadar Patrappa Road Market in Bengaluru, and Tank Road in Delhi.
IndiaMART, one of the largest Indian e-commerce websites, along with four physical marketplaces in Delhi, Bengaluru, Kolkata and Mumbai have figured in the latest annual edition of the Notorious Markets List of the US.
The 2022 list, released by the US Trade Representative (USTR), identifies 39 online and 33 physical markets that are reported to engage in or facilitate substantial trademark counterfeiting or copyright piracy. China led the world in producing bootlegged goods in violation of intellectual property laws.
The widespread trade in counterfeit and pirated goods “undermines USTR’s work to craft equitable and inclusive trade policy," USTR Katherine Tai said.
According to the USTR report, IndiaMART has been cooperative in engagement with certain rights holders and improving complaint response times. However, counterfeit goods on the e-commerce site, including pharmaceuticals, electronics, and apparel, remain a serious concern for other rights holders.
Right holders dispute that the e-commerce site adequately engaged with them and implemented anti-counterfeiting best practices, including seller verification, penalties against known sellers of counterfeit goods, or proactive monitoring for infringing goods. Its assertion regarding the responsiveness of its notice-and-takedown system was also questioned.
USTR is an agency of the US government responsible for developing and promoting American trade policy. It first identified notorious markets in the Special 301 Report in 2006. Since February 2011, the agency has been publishing the Notorious Markets List on intellectual property infringement in "physical and online markets" around the world.
Source: Outlook India
