Intellectual Property

Please join ITIF for an expert panel discussion on the role of Chinese e-commerce platforms in facilitating counterfeiting, what this means for U.S. competitiveness, consumer trust, and global trade, and the steps policymakers should take to safeguard American innovators and consumers.

ITIF recommends that USTR include Temu, AliExpress, and SHEIN on the 2025 Notorious Markets List because all three platforms meet USTR’s criteria as notorious online markets. They facilitate systemic trafficking in counterfeit goods, harming U.S. right holders, undermining fair competition, and placing U.S. consumers at risk.

Counterfeit K-beauty products are eroding brand value, endangering consumers, and threatening South Korea’s cultural and trade influence, making stronger cross-border cooperation and AI-driven enforcement essential.

Chinese e-commerce platforms facilitate sales of counterfeit products, threatening U.S. intellectual property, fair competition, and consumer safety. Policymakers should take action to hold these platforms accountable and protect American consumers and businesses.

Section 337 was made into law to help address unfair foreign trade practices. It should be used vigorously to prevent the import of IP-infringing products from firms that systemically benefit from unfair government practices in non-market, non-rule-of-law economies such as China.

A proposed patent tax would punish startups, weaken U.S. competitiveness, and gut a system that has powered American innovation for centuries—all without solving the budget problem it aims to address.

President Trump has rightly emphasized that AI should be allowed to learn like humans do, and unless the UK adopts a commonsense approach to AI training and copyright, it risks falling behind China in the global AI race.

The event featured remarks from policymakers, legal experts, and industry leaders who assessed the scope of the threat and the legal and technical frameworks that can help address foreign online piracy.

The OECD guidelines are a critical step in shaping how global e-commerce operates. But unless they reflect the geopolitical and regulatory asymmetries that define today’s counterfeit trade, they will fall short of their ambition.

Chinese e-commerce platforms are profiting from large-scale design theft that undermines independent creators on sites like Etsy. U.S. policymakers should respond with stronger IP enforcement and trade regulations to protect the American creative economy.