The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR.gov) has released a daunting report: “2025 Review of Notorious Markets for Counterfeiting and Piracy.” HERE
(The report is endorsed by the RIAA HERE.)
In the USTR document we see dozens of piracy brands, if you will — DHGATE, MEGACLOUD, PRIVATE LAYER, and the more generally recognized PIRATE BAY.
The 61-page report describes each of them, their general purpose and particular specialties. Countries around the world are represented.
This documentation might seem depressing, but there is a ray of light:
“Since the release of the 2024 Notorious Markets List, there have been notable efforts to address the widespread availability of counterfeit and pirated goods in some online and physical markets.”
The U.S. has rather a big-brother attitude in this document:
“The United States commends these efforts and encourages governments, right holders, service providers, and the owners and operators of these and other markets, including those newly identified in the 2025 NML, to engage in sustained and meaningful efforts to combat piracy
and counterfeiting.”
And successes are noted. We learn that during the past year, several enforcement authorities conducted successful actions against online piracy markets, which are listed. Argentina reportedly dismantled an operation that facilitated illegal subscriptions to a TV service. Brazil implemented an anti-piracy system called Operation 404, assisted by the U.S. Torrent Galaxy, a well known BitTorrent site, went offline after a Dutch court blocked the site, and other countries followed.
The U.S. government’s home page for intellectual property rights and information is STOPfakes.gov (https://www.stopfakes.gov/)
