Indonesia – The United States government has recently included regional e-commerce platform Shopee and local Indonesian player Bukalapak have been cited in a recent review by the US government of online platforms that promote counterfeit goods. The review also mentioned a list of platforms that are impactful in the growing piracy industry.
The review, posted by the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), mentioned how these platforms, despite increased investment for IP protection in their platform, the platforms still see significant numbers of counterfeit goods in their respective platforms.
In the report, it was noted that while right holders have welcomed reports of greater investments by Bukalapak in its anti-counterfeiting measures, they continue to report high volumes of counterfeit products, particularly counterfeit apparel and footwear, consumer electronics, and pharmaceutical products.
Moreover, right holders noted the limited effectiveness of filtering and other proactive tools and that site penalties for selling counterfeit goods are insufficient to deter repeat offenders.
Meanwhile, Shopee stakeholders continue to report high volumes of counterfeit goods across some of Shopee’s country platforms where Shopee has not implemented its latest IP enforcement systems, and where its teams operate with different levels of resources, responsiveness, and local challenges.
A persistent complaint that applies to all of Shopee’s country platforms is that Shopee’s points-based repeat infringer policy allows sellers of reported counterfeit goods to continue operating their Shopee storefronts despite multiple reports. This is despite the fact that the platform has introduced several strategies to combat counterfeit goods in their platform.
The USTR has also mentioned that although Indonesia has recently taken steps to improve intellectual property (IP) protection and enforcement, including expanding an IP enforcement task force and increasing efforts to address online piracy, significant concerns remain. In a separate report, it mentioned that the Mangga Dua Market in Jakarta continues to be listed in the 2024 Review of Notorious Markets for Counterfeiting and Piracy (Notorious Markets List), along with multiple online Indonesian marketplaces.
Other Southeast Asian flea markets have also been mentioned as notorious hubs for counterfeit goods, including Petaling Street Market in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and Greenhills Shopping Center in Manila, Philippines.
