The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced the removal of Alibaba Group’s consumer-focused e-commerce platform, Taobao, from its list of “notorious markets” of pirated and counterfeit goods.
The USTR’s annual report names websites and physical venues “that have a negative impact on legitimate businesses and industries of all sizes that rely on intellectual property to protect their goods and services.”
In April this year, Alibaba hired James Mendenhall, a former general counsel of the USTR, to aid its discussions with the U.S. government and industry groups in an attempt to have Taobao removed from the list.
Source: Business Strategies Group Hong Kong – www.bsgasia.com