Copyright Infringement

Notorious Markets Piracy Sites List Published by U.S. Gov’t.

The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) publishes its annual Notorious Markets Report, which was recently released. The report focuses on the physical markets and websites that are seen to be the biggest threats to the country’s intellectual property owners. It is from submissions from copyright owners that the list is compiled.

This report includes both legitimate platforms that engage in copyright infringement as well as sites that exist only to share unlicensed material or to sell counterfeit products. The websites include online marketplaces, social networks and messaging platforms. Pirate Bay, the world’s most visited BitTorrent index site, and stream-ripping platforms like MP3juices and FLVTO are regularly listed.

As the report points out, The Pirate Bay serves the whole world, with 35 languages and multiple global domains. It continues despite the web-blocking orders issued by many copyright holders. The site has been served orders from countries as diverse as Finland, Argentina, Iceland, Malaysia, the UK, Australia and Spain.

This year’s report discusses the impact that online piracy has on the nation’s workforce. It explains that online piracy harms U.S. media, entertainment and other creative industry workers’ economic security. The report goes on to explain that digital media piracy results in lower revenues, which reduces job security and benefits.

The report’s goal is to inform the world’s governments and its regulators about the online marketplaces and other copyright-infringing websites that the U.S. believes are hurting its intellectual property interest. It is hoped that government agencies in other countries will take action or regulate these websites to stop illegal activities. Those in the arts, entertainment and media industries believe that through coordinated copyright enforcement, the livelihoods of American creators can be protected.

2022 Review of Notorious Markets for Counterfeiting and Piracy – Read the full report.

Complete Music Update – February 2, 2023 – Chris Cooke

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