The Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) released a statement on Thursday, Feb. 1, stating its continued cooperation with other agencies to prevent the sale of counterfeit and intellectual property (IP)-infringing goods in the Greenhills Shopping Center.

The agency cited its ongoing partnership with the National Committee on Intellectual Property Rights (NCIPR) to implement a work plan under the Overhaul Greenhills (OG) Project for the said mall.

“We will continue to work with rights holders, San Juan local government and the Greenhills management on seizures, issuance of warning letters and updates on the development of the shopping center into a high-end mall,” said IPOPHL.

Greenhills Shopping Center, located in San Juan City, was among the 39 online markets and 33 physical markets included in the US Trade Representative's (USTR) 2023 Review of Notorious Markets for Counterfeiting and Piracy List. It was identified as a hotspot to purchase counterfeit products ranging from electronics to accessories.

According to the review, dialogue has been conducted between rights holders and mall management to enforce anti-piracy policies such as product seizures and legal charges against these vendors. Other penalties include issuing warning letters and suspension of businesses for repeat violations.

This comes at a time where mall management and the city government are eyeing to renovate the Greenhills Shopping Center into a high-end mall for legitimate sellers.

IPOPHL said that Greenhills “remains a priority” in its overall goal to clear the markets from fake goods.

“Selling counterfeit goods is a crime that harms the reputation of a legitimate business, dampens investor trust and evades taxes beholden to the Filipino people,” it added.

The agency is also urging sellers to “uphold legitimate trade and support the sale of locally-made products.”

Aside from Greenhills, the USTR also flagged Southeast Asian-based online shopping platform Shopee in the Notorious Markets List. However, it noted that the platform has been investing in brand protection and anti-counterfeiting initiatives, as well as applying data science models to remove counterfeited items.

Despite these efforts, Shopee has not made improvements in its dialogue with rights holders, said the review.

The Notorious Markets Review was published on Tuesday, Jan. 30, and serves as a way to evaluate anti-piracy efforts around the globe, and inform the public about areas that sell counterfeit goods.

“The trade in counterfeit and pirated goods harms workers, consumers, and small businesses, and ultimately hurts the U.S. economy,” said USTR Ambassador Katherine Tai.  

“This year’s Notorious Markets List is significant because it underscores the potential dangers of counterfeit goods and why robust enforcement to combat trade in these goods is important to growing our economy from the middle out and the bottom up,” she added.