US lists Delhi's Nehru Place among notorious markets in world

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An official US report has identified Nehru Place in New Delhi among the top 30 notorious IT markets of the world, dealing in goods and services infringing intellectual property rights (IPR).

"Nehru Place is reportedly one of the many markets in major cities throughout India that are known for dealing in large volumes of pirated software, pirated optical media containing movies and music, and counterfeit goods," said the report released by the US Trade Representative (USTR).

The Out-of-Cycle Review of Notorious Markets report identifies more than 30 markets that typify the problem of marketplaces that deal in goods and services that infringe on intellectual property rights (IPR) and help to sustain global piracy and counterfeiting.

The results identify examples of both Internet and physical marketplaces that have been the subject of enforcement action connected with counterfeiting and piracy, or that may merit further investigation for possible IPR infringements.

The announcement concludes the review process launched on September 22. "Piracy and counterfeiting continue to present a serious challenge to the innovation and creativity that is essential to supporting American jobs and creating economic growth around the world. The notorious markets highlighted in this review negatively impact legitimate businesses and industries of all sizes that rely on intellectual property to protect their goods and services," said US Trade Representative Ron Kirk.

"We hope that this review will continue to yield the kind of concrete action from highlighted markets that led to the removal of several markets from the list this year," he said.

"The Notorious Markets Review identifies markets in each category that are particularly prominent examples of where infringing goods and services are sold. It does not constitute an exhaustive list of all notorious markets around the world," USTR said.

Inclusion in the Notorious Markets List does not reflect a finding of a violation of law or the United States Government's analysis of the general IPR protection and enforcement climate in the country concerned;

such analysis is contained in the annual Special 301 Report issued at the end of April, it said. USTR said several markets have been identified for the availability of pirated and counterfeit goods and services through their premises or networks.

The markets listed include, for example, the Chinese website Taobao, a site offering a variety of infringing products to consumers and businesses that, while continuing its significant efforts to address the problem, reportedly also continues to offer infringing products.

The Notorious Markets List also indentifies specific activities such as blogs or online forums offering links to infringing content online, or key physical markets such as PC Malls in China.