Tokopedia, Shopee, Bukalapak Cited in U.S. Notorious Market Report
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24 February 2022 12:27 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The United States Trade Representative (USTR) on Thursday issued its 2021 notorious markets report on Thursday which lists 42 marketplace that are involved in selling counterfeit goods and piracy. Those listed are familiar among Indonesians as three online marketplace giants; Tokopedia, Shopee, and Bukalapak.
“The global trade in counterfeit and pirated goods undermines critical U.S. innovation and creativity and harms American workers,” said Ambassador Katherine Tai in the ustr.gov website. “This illicit trade also increases the vulnerability of workers involved in the manufacturing of counterfeit goods to exploitative labor practices, and the counterfeit goods can pose significant risks to the health and safety of consumers and workers around the world.”
The following is the USTR report on the three online marketplaces:
- Tokopedia
USTR described Tokopedia in its report as one of Indonesia’s largest e-commerce markets. It serves as a platform for third-party vendors to post listings, and the site offers a vast range of goods, including clothes, electronics, and textbooks. Right holders report finding high rates and volumes of counterfeit clothing, counterfeit cosmetics and accessories, pirated textbooks, and other pirated English Language materials on this platform.
They also state that some right holders have recognized improvements in Tokopedia’s notice-and-takedown system and its increased engagement with brands to address concerns about counterfeits on its platform.
In a Tempo.co article on February 22, Tokopedia External Communications Senior, Ekhel Chandra Wijaya, guaranteed that the company would take firm action against any misuse of its platform. It also facilitates users to report if they find violations.
“Even though Tokopedia is a UGC where each seller can upload products independently, we continue to take cooperative actions to keep platform activities in accordance with the law,” said Ekhel.
- Bukalapak
USTR stated that rights holders note that the majority of branded products on Bukalapak are not genuine and that items are often openly labeled “replicas” of branded products. While acknowledging that Bukalapak recently made several improvements to its anti-counterfeiting systems, it continues to be concerned about Bukalapak’s seller vetting protocols that they deem do not sufficiently prevent sellers of counterfeit goods from registering with the platform.
Bukalapak AVP of Marketplace Quality Baskara Aditama was quoted as stating that the marketplace consistently bans the sales of counterfeit products and has set regulations and sanctions against violators.
- Shopee
The Notorious Market report stated that right holders report very high levels of counterfeits being sold on all of Shopee’s platforms, with the exception of Shopee’s Taiwan platform. Right holders report that Shopee’s notice-and takedown procedures are burdensome, decentralized, ineffective, and slow. Shopee’s procedures for vetting sellers reportedly do not keep sellers of counterfeit goods off its platforms or prevent repeat infringers from re-registering.
Right holders assert that Shopee has not created an environment where sellers are deterred from offering counterfeit goods but acknowledged that the platform has increased engagement with right holders in an effort to address these issues.
Read: BI Governor: E-commerce Transaction to Reach Rp530 Tn in 2022
HARIS SETYAWAN | BISNIS.COM | USTR.GOV
