U.S. Puts Amazon Foreign Websites on List of Platforms Blamed for Facilitating Piracy -- Update
April 29 2020 - 12:14PM
Dow Jones News
By William Mauldin
WASHINGTON -- The Trump administration hit Amazon.com Inc. over
intellectual-property rights Wednesday, putting five of the online
retailer's foreign platforms on a list of "notorious markets"
believed to facilitate sales of counterfeit and pirated goods.
The U.S. trade representative's office listed Amazon's web
domains in Canada, France, Germany, India, and the U.K. among the
accused platforms that allow for piracy. The action doesn't target
Amazon's U.S. platform.
The Wall Street Journal previously reported that the trade
representative was considering taking the action. The
notorious-markets list has been used to encourage foreign companies
and countries to crack down on piracy and counterfeiting, so the
targeting of foreign platforms of a prominent U.S. company is a
milestone.
The trade office said it took the action in response to
complaints from U.S. apparel makers that Amazon isn't taking
sufficient steps to block the sale of counterfeits on the five
foreign platforms.
On a call with reporters, a senior U.S. trade official said
companies have complained that seller information on the platforms
is misleading, making it hard to determine who is selling the good,
and that the process for removing listings can be "lengthy and
burdensome."
Amazon couldn't immediately be reached for comment. The company
said in an October letter to the trade representative's office that
it has taken a variety of steps to limit the sale of pirated goods
and that legitimate brands often haven't taken steps to report
infringement of their rights.
The American Apparel and Footwear Association had formally
requested that the U.S. add the Amazon sales platforms in those
five countries to the list. The association said its members
flagged those sites as the biggest source of problems among
Amazon's platforms, with thousands of counterfeit items and
listings.
In the trade office's report Wednesday, U.S. officials said that
companies complained that the seller information displayed by
Amazon on the foreign sites is often misleading, making it
"difficult for consumers and right holders alike to determine who
is selling the goods and that anyone can become a seller on Amazon
with too much ease because Amazon does not sufficiently vet sellers
on its platforms.
Amazon's counterfeit-removal processes "can be lengthy and
burdensome, even for right holders that enroll in Amazon's brand
protection programs, " according to the report.
Putting Amazon on the list also highlights the tensions between
the administration and the online retailer led by founder and Chief
Executive Jeff Bezos, a frequent target of President Trump .
President Trump blames Mr. Bezos for unfavorable coverage in the
Washington Post, which Mr. Bezos bought in 2013 for $250 million.
The Post says its editorial decisions are independent.
Besides Amazon, the annual notorious-markets list once again
included the Taobao.com website owned by Chinese e-commerce company
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.
"Taobao remains one of the largest sources of counterfeit sales
in China, " the report said. While the report noted improved
response times and policies, it said the site is still known for
the number of counterfeits "offered for sale on Taobao and the lack
of transparency regarding filters and other proactive
anticounterfeiting measures."
An Alibaba spokesman said the company "will continue to expand
and enhance its robust enforcement programs, engage in meaningful
dialogue and promote advanced collaboration."
Social-media platforms that allow users to buy and sell goods
also are drawing scrutiny in Washington. "Right holders have
expressed increasing concerns with a growing trend of counterfeit
products being offered for sale on e-commerce features related to
large platforms, such as WeChat," Tencent Holdings Ltd.'s giant
social-media platform in China, according to the report.
More broadly, the Trump administration has sought to boost
intellectual-property protection for drugmakers, Hollywood, the
music industry and consumer-products firms in trade agreements,
including a recent "phase one" trade pact with China.
In recent years, lobbyists and lawmakers have wrangled over how
to address the degree of liability that online platforms should
face for identifying and removing pirated electronic content or
goods. Consumer watchdogs warn that officials can go too far in
guaranteeing companies' rights and that some firms, including big
drugmakers, may benefit too much from long-term patent and market
protections.
Besides the notorious-markets list, the trade representative's
office on Wednesday also released its new list of countries that
don't take sufficient steps to protect intellectual-property
rights. The "priority watch list" includes Algeria, Argentina,
Chile, China, India, Indonesia, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Ukraine and
Venezuela.
China recently submitted a road map for addressing
intellectual-property rights as a part of the "phase one" trade
agreement, and the U.S. trade official said Wednesday that
Washington is reviewing the blueprint and continuing to work with
Beijing on the issue.
Write to William Mauldin at william.mauldin@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 29, 2020 11:59 ET (15:59 GMT)
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