The US Trade Representative (USTR) said that merchants at Greenhills Shopping Center, a major shopping complex in San Juan, Manila - one of notorious markets globally that sell counterfeit and pirated goods - are becoming bolder in undertaking their illicit trade.
In its latest 2021 Review of Notorious Markets for Counterfeiting and Piracy (Notorious Markets List, or NML), the USTR said that sellers of counterfeit goods in Greenhills Shopping Center are reportedly “becoming bolder in displaying and openly discussing the illicit nature of the counterfeit goods, instead of discretely hiding the counterfeit goods under the tables as they did in the past.”
The USTR review results noted that the sprawling and popular Greenhills Shopping Center has a new seven-story building scheduled to open in early 2022.
“Many of the storefronts in this mall sell counterfeit goods, including electronics, perfumes, watches, shoes, accessories, and fashion items,” USTR said in the review results that highlighted prominent examples of online and physical markets that reported engage in, facilitate, turn a blind eye to, or benefit from substantial piracy or counterfeiting.
The USTR further added that the sale of fake items worsened despite the Philippines government having established an enforcement and monitoring agreement with the city of San Juan and created a technical working group (TWG) composed of various agencies from the National Committee on Intellectual Property Rights (NCIPR) and the Department of Information and Communications Technology.
On the positive side, the USTR cited efforts of the Philippines Bureau of Customs for seizing counterfeit medicine and personal protective equipment, such as face masks, as well as a substantial amount of counterfeit luxury goods from the Baclaran Bagong Milenyo Plaza, a shopping mall in Pasay City.
The Review results also noted the several Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) entered into by the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) in 2021 to combat the global trade in counterfeit goods and online piracy. “IPOPHL’s MOU with the International Trademark Association helps to fight against counterfeiting by improving the capacities of trademark examiners, customs, and enforcement authorities, as well as building public awareness of the dangers of counterfeit goods. IPOPHL’s MOU with the Asia Video Industry Association improves collaboration between the two organizations to reduce online piracy, including the development of mechanisms and channels for sharing information, the development of piracy monitoring processes, and increasing the expertise and technical knowledge of local authorities,” the Review said.
In particular, USTR cited IPOPHL’s MOU with brand owners and e-commerce platforms Lazada and Shopee establishes a notice-and-takedown procedure and a feedback mechanism in order to build stronger coordination to combat online counterfeiting.
For his part, IPOPHL Director General Rowel S. Barba said the TWG in the NCIPR will tackle this problem noting that Greenhills has always been listed in the NML since the creation of the list. But Barba said TWG recommendation could be implemented after the May elections with the new local officials of San Juan City. USTR has identified notorious markets in the Special 301 Report since 2006. It first published the NML in February 2011 separate from the Special 301 Report.
This year’s NML includes several previously identified markets because owners, operators, and governments failed to address the stated concerns. Other previously identified markets may not appear in the NML for a variety of reasons, including that the market has closed or its popularity or significance has diminished; enforcement or voluntary action has significantly reduced the prevalence of IP-infringing goods or services; market owners or operators are cooperating with right holders or government authorities to address infringement; or the market is no longer a noteworthy example of its kind.
In some cases, physical and online markets in the 2020 NML are not highlighted this year, but improvements are still needed, and the United States may continue to raise concerns related to these markets on a bilateral basis with the relevant countries.
The NML is on top of the annual USTR review of the Special 301 Watch List, a list of countries that violate intellectual property rights. USTR noted that commercial-scale copyright piracy and trademark counterfeiting cause significant financial losses for US right holders and legitimate businesses, undermine critical US comparative advantages in innovation and creativity to the detriment of American workers, and pose significant risks to consumer health and safety.
The goal of the NML is to motivate appropriate action by the private sector and governments to reduce piracy and counterfeiting.