The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has issued a Notice in the Federal Register requesting for public comments addressing concerns with the guidelines and best practices in relation to online marketplace operators and intellectual property rights owners.[1] The Notice titled, “Request for Comments on OECD’s Working Party on Countering Illicit Trade (WP-CIT) Draft Voluntary Guidelines for Countering Illicit Trade in Counterfeit Goods on Online Marketplaces,” will be available for public comments until 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Friday, June 27, 2025.[2] The feedback sought by the USPTO includes strategies for combating online counterfeiting and guidelines for enforcement.[3] A public roundtable was also held virtually and in-person on Thursday, June 5, 2025, at 9:00 a.m. (ET) by the USPTO and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), an international organization comprised of 38 member countries that is headquartered in Paris, France.[4] In a recent press release, the OECD highlighted the impact of counterfeit goods in the global economy, estimating that $467 billion USD (2.3% of total global imports) was in counterfeit goods in 2021.[5]
[1] U.S. Pat. & Trademark Office, USPTO Announces Comment Request and Roundtable Discussion on E-Commerce Guidelines (May 16, 2025), https://www.uspto.gov/about-us/news-updates/uspto-announces-comment-request-and-roundtable-discussion-e-commerce.
[2] Request for Comments on OECD’s Working Party on Countering Illicit Trade (WP-CIT) Draft Voluntary Guidelines for Countering Illicit Trade in Counterfeit Goods on Online Marketplaces, 90 Fed. Reg. 21291 (May 19, 2025), https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/05/19/2025-08891/request-for-comments-on-oecds-working-party-on-countering-illicit-trade-wp-cit-draft-voluntary.
[3] Id.; Briseño, Elaine, USPTO Seeks Input on Guidelines for Fighting Online Fakes, Law360, May 19, 2025, https://www.law360.com/articles/2341398/uspto-seeks-input-on-guidelines-for-fighting-online-fakes.
[4] U.S. Pat. & Trademark Office, USPTO Announces Comment Request and Roundtable Discussion on E-Commerce Guidelines (May 16, 2025), https://www.uspto.gov/about-us/news-updates/uspto-announces-comment-request-and-roundtable-discussion-e-commerce.
[5] OECD/EUIPO (2025), Mapping Global Trade in Fakes 2025: Global Trends and Enforcement Challenges, Illicit Trade, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/94d3b29f-en.