The U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Global Intellectual Property Center commends the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) for efforts to identify notorious online markets that are responsible for the most egregious infringements of intellectual property (IP) rights. Since its first installment in 2010, the Notorious Markets report has fostered real progress with respect to several online markets.

Criminals who operate in these markets are stealing the best of American creativity and innovation and feed on the time, effort, talent, and hard work of 55 million Americans who rely on the protection of IP for their livelihood. Additionally, their illegal activities impede America’s economic development and endanger consumers’ health and safety. We applaud USTR for recognizing the detrimental effects of online notorious markets and continued efforts to shine a spotlight on this growing problem.