The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) has released the findings of its 2025 Review of Notorious Markets for Counterfeiting and Piracy (the Notorious Markets List). The Notorious Markets List highlights online and physical markets that reportedly engage in or facilitate substantial trademark counterfeiting or copyright piracy.

“With the United States co-hosting the FIFA World Cup, we are particularly attuned to sales of counterfeit merchandise and illicit streaming of sports broadcasts,” said Ambassador Jamieson Greer. “Not only do such activities amount to intellectual property theft, they also harm consumers, such as through purchasing substandard goods that can present health or safety concerns or downloading malware when visiting sites engaged in these activities.

This year’s Notorious Markets List’s issue focus section examines piracy of live sports broadcasts and the challenges of protecting copyright in the digital age. The global nature of sophisticated copyright piracy operations requires international cooperation for effective enforcement. USTR calls on trading partners to undertake policy reforms to strengthen intellectual property protections, such as joining and fully implementing the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Copyright Treaty and the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty, which provide key protections for copyright and related rights in the digital environment.

The 2025 Notorious Markets List identifies 37 online markets and 32 physical markets that are reported to engage in or facilitate substantial trademark counterfeiting or copyright piracy. The Notorious Markets List highlights both widespread and evolving trends in counterfeiting and piracy, and identifies a wide variety of sites, including e-commerce and social commerce sites, as well as ‘bulletproof’ hosting providers, streaming sites, or other piracy-enabling sites for copying and distributing content.

USTR first identified notorious markets in the Special 301 Report in 2006. Since February 2011, USTR annually publishes the Notorious Markets List, separately from the Special 301 Report, to increase public awareness and help market operators and governments prioritise intellectual property enforcement efforts that protect American businesses and their workers.

Responding to release of the List Charles Rivkin, MPA Chairman and CEO, said: “The MPA commends Ambassador Greer, the USTR staff, and their interagency partners for their unwavering commitment to curtail digital piracy and protect the creative marketplace. Each year, the Notorious Markets List identifies the world’s most nefarious criminal operations that distribute unlicensed content and infringe upon the copyrighted works of the creative community.

“We appreciate the inclusion of more than 15 flagrant offenders we identified to USTR on the List, as well as a recognition of ACE’s landmark takedown of Streameast – formerly the world’s largest live-sports piracy ring.”

“Live sports piracy poses an existential threat to rights holders, and ACE is expanding its efforts to mitigate the adverse effects through deeper partnerships with sports broadcasters, leagues, and global law enforcement. Combatting these networks requires sustained collaboration between rights holders, technology platforms, and international law enforcement.”

“Criminal networks continue to exploit new technologies, including illicit streaming services and infrastructure designed to evade enforcement. In an age of rapidly evolving technologies and a fast-changing digital landscape, it’s more important than ever to protect and defend intellectual property rights. Through effective copyright law, the MPA will continue to ensure our industry does what we do best: fuel economies and inspire audiences around the world.”

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Categories: Articles, Business, Content, Piracy, Policy, Regulation, Rights

Tags: Office of the United States Trade Representative, piracy, USTR