On January 8, 2025, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) released the 2024 Review of Notorious Markets for Counterfeiting and Piracy. Of note, the USTR removed Weixin (WeChat), a social media ‘super-app’ from the Review. Nonetheless, “China continues to be the number one source of counterfeit products in the world. Counterfeit and pirated goods from China, together with transshipped goods from China to Hong Kong, China, accounted for 84% of the value (measured by manufacturer’s suggested retail price) and 90% of the total quantity of counterfeit and pirated goods seized by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in 2023.” Five China-based online markets remain on the list with Douyin (TikTok) replacing WeChat.

China-related excerpts from the Review regarding online markets follow. The full text is available here.

BAIDU WANGPAN

This cloud storage service is operated by Baidu, the largest search-engine provider in China. Users of this service are able to share links to files stored on their accounts with other users, and infringing content is reportedly disseminated widely through social media and other piracy linking sites. Baidu has been the subject of several copyright infringement cases in China brought by other content distributors, but right holders report little change in the site’s enforcement measures. Although Baidu has several tools to take down unauthorized content, according to right holders, procedures for filing complaints are applied unevenly and lack transparency. Additionally, takedown times are reportedly lengthy, and right holders often have to repeatedly follow-up with Baidu to ensure that pirated content does not reappear on the platform. Right holders report little progress in Baidu’s actions to suspend or terminate repeat infringers.

DHGATE 

Headquartered in China. DHgate is one of the largest business-to-business cross-border e-commerce platforms in China, although it primarily serves purchasers outside of the country. This year, stakeholders have welcomed the introduction of a pilot IP enforcement program that includes a new portal for complaints, new procedures for screening of products and of prospective sellers, and enhanced penalties for repeat and high-volume infringers. Stakeholders have also expressed appreciation for DHgate’s efforts to increase engagement and collaboration with right holders. In its submission for this year’s List, DHgate described its significant investment in AI-based screening tools to detect and remove counterfeit goods, its vendor verification process that screens and blacklists repeat infringers, its pilot program and other efforts to resolve right holder complaints, and its efforts to cooperate with law enforcement authorities, including publishing a law enforcement guide and assisting with several investigations involving health and safety matters. DHgate’s reported successes also include proactively removing twice as many listings for infringing goods in 2023 as compared to 2022. However, some stakeholders continue to report that the platform contains a high volume of counterfeits and the repeat infringer policy is ineffective. They also note the platform appears to connect Chinese sellers and manufacturers specializing in counterfeits with wholesale buyers outside of China. Although some brand owners have successfully reduced counterfeits through collaboration with DHgate, others have reported mixed results. Sellers of counterfeit goods reportedly continue to evade detection by using code words and digitally blurred logos. DHgate has implemented policies to regulate influencers promoting products listed on its platform through posting on third-party websites, and right holders indicate that they need more time to determine the impact of these policies. Given that many stakeholders welcomed DHgate’s recent initiatives but continue to raise concerns, DHgate should further work to improve its proactive detection procedures, seller vetting process, and screening for repeat infringers. 

DOUYIN SHANGCHENG (DOUYIN MALL)

Douyin Shangcheng (Douyin Mall) is a shopping platform under Douyin, the Chinese online platform offering short-form video, live stream, and e-commerce functionalities owned by ByteDance, also the parent company of Tiktok. Douyin has upgraded its e-commerce functions to include Douyin Mall as both a standalone application and an integrated feature accessible from the Douyin application. Douyin Mall allows users to scroll through suggested products or search for products and click through the Douyin Mall interface to view short videos or livestream videos about the products. From such videos or livestreams, users can use the shopping cart function to conduct purchases. Douyin contends that it has notice and takedown mechanisms, with multiple reporting portals for right holders to submit complaints, as well as a one-stop “IPPRO” platform for right holders to submit and manage IP infringement reports. Douyin also described its efforts to screen proactively for specific terms, to train proactive identification 25 models to target counterfeit products or sellers, and to cooperate with right holders and enforcement authorities, including on the pursuit of criminal cases offline. However, stakeholders have described a “rocketing” increase in the amount of counterfeit goods on the platform, an ineffective notice and takedown system, and reported lengthy delays in response to takedown requests, with little to no feedback on right holders’ complaints. Douyin should address concerns about the prevalence of counterfeits on its platform, including questions about the effectiveness of its proactive screening mechanisms and its system for managing IP infringement complaints. 

PINDUODUO 

Headquartered in China. Pinduoduo, a social commerce app, is one of the largest e-commerce platforms in China. Right holders report that Pinduoduo continues to offer a high volume of counterfeit goods on their platform. As in previous years, stakeholders continue to highlight concerns about Pinduoduo’s unwillingness to engage with brand owners to resolve issues or develop improved processes. Although the platform claims to have implemented anti-counterfeiting initiatives to assist with accurate product descriptions and combat misinformation from merchants, right holders convey that excessive delays in takedowns remain a problem and can take up to two weeks or more. Other longstanding issues remain unresolved, including onerous evidentiary requirements and lack of proactive measures to screen sellers and listings, as well as lack of transparency with enforcement processes, such as penalty mechanisms and decisions rejecting takedown requests. This year, right holders again noted Pinduoduo’s ineffective seller vetting and raised concerns about the platform’s reported practice of labeling sponsored listings as “authorized sellers,” giving the appearance of legitimacy to counterfeit products and misleading consumers into believing that they are purchasing from the legitimate manufacturer or a licensed distributor. Right holders also continue to report difficulties in receiving information and support from Pinduoduo in pursuing follow-on investigations to uncover the manufacturing and distribution channels of the counterfeit goods.

TAOBAO

Taobao, one of the largest e-commerce platforms in the world, is Alibaba’s platform for Chinese consumers. Alibaba has proactively engaged with right holders and the U.S. Government to improve its anti-counterfeiting processes and tools across its platforms, including Taobao. Although Alibaba emphasizes its ongoing engagement with enforcement authorities to combat the sale of counterfeits, right holders continue to express concern that a recent structural reorganization by Alibaba has left the platform with fewer anti-counterfeiting resources to conduct investigations. Right holders recognized Alibaba’s investment in anticounterfeiting measures and industry engagement efforts in recent years, but they also continued to report high volumes of counterfeit products and pirated goods, such as PDF copies of books. Right holders highlighted the need for improvements to address the site’s infringement reporting process and stringent criteria required for takedown notices, such as the requirement to identify specific piracy indicators within listings that infringers have kept deliberately vague. Furthermore, stakeholders convey that despite their ability to report obvious counterfeits that they identify on the platform for fast processing, high-quality counterfeits that are sold at prices similar to their authentic counterparts are not easily identified. Alibaba contends that its automated reporting platform is user friendly and only requires right holders to upload registration certificates to prove their rights or document their unregistered copyrights by filling out a specific form. USTR will continue to monitor the transparency and effectiveness of Taobao’s anti-counterfeiting efforts, including the evidentiary requirements for takedown requests.