E-commerce site Taobao taken off US piracy list

The US Trade Representative has removed Taobao, China’s leading online retailer by volume, from a list of “notorious” markets for intellectual property infringement, The Wall Street Journal reported. Taobao, owned by online e-commerce conglomerate Alibaba Group, was removed from the list due to its work over the past year to assist rightholders directly or indirectly to prevent intellectual property infringement, said the agency. Sogou, the search engine site of Sohu.com (SOHU.NASDAQ), was also removed from the list because of its efforts to remove infringing content. To ensure it remains off the list, Taobao must reduce processing times for the removal of fake goods from its site and deal with complaints from US firms more efficiently, the representative said. The organization also urged US software, clothing and footwear companies to continue to provide feedback on Alibaba’s efforts.