January 12, 2018
USTR Adopts AAP Recommendations for 2017 Notorious Market Report
Washington, DC; January 12, 2018 – The Association of American Publishers (AAP) commends the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) for its 2017 Special 301 Out-of-Cycle Report of “Notorious Markets” released today. The report highlights online and physical piracy markets and encourages the responsible authorities in the countries associated with those markets to intensify efforts to combat illegal activity. It draws attention to all six piracy sites documented by AAP through the deliberative process: Libgen, Sci-hub, Bookfi, Rapidgator, DHGate, and Uploaded.net.
“Publishers greatly appreciate the diligent work of Ambassador Lighthizer and his team to support U.S. copyright owners by publicly identifying and pressuring bad actors through the Notorious Markets process,” said Maria A. Pallante, President and CEO of AAP. “Given the overwhelming scale and borderless nature of piracy on the Internet, cooperation between and among governments is an essential legal strategy.”
The book and journal publishing industry contributes significantly to the U.S. economy, resulting in about $26 billion in revenue every year. The sale and sharing of unauthorized and pirated books and journals can cause significant financial losses for publishers, individual right holders and other creators who rely on copyright protections.
The publication of the Notorious Markets report helps the U.S. and foreign governments alike to prioritize intellectual property rights enforcement. Among other things, the 2017 report calls on the six markets documented by AAP and other infringing platforms to improve takedown procedures, institute proactive measures, and commence cooperation with right holders.
The 2017 USTR Notorious Markets Report can be found here.