On Monday United States placed the popular search engine of China, Baidu, on the list of “notorious market” due to pirated and counterfeit goods; the business community in US was hoping that congress will take action against such websites.
According to the office of US Trade Representative (USTR), Baidu is a clear example of deep linking which takes the buyers to specific pages violating all the rules and regulations to materials stored on other sites.
Web users are taken to a point inside the website through deep links bypassing the home page.
Baidu topped all other sites by having a big number of visitors and it was also in the top ten list worldwide.
The list of “notorious internet market” was issued two months in advance of the usual time as it was decided by United States TR to publish it separately.
According to the US Chamber of Commerce, the Congress is required to pass a bill which would allow the courts to block websites that deal with counterfeit goods hence restricting their operations within the United States.
Steven Tepp who leads Internet Piracy and Counterfeiting group, commented that those who are operating these markets are in fact stealing the innovation and American creativity.
Many other on and off the net Chinese markets were also targeted by USTR. It was also reported that many computer malls in China were selling illegal software programs as well as software for operating system. Russia was also condemned for having similar markets and online sites offering pirated music. Although allofmp3, which was the largest website for pirate music was closed in 2007, many other sites are doing the same thing.
It was also added by USTR that many notorious markets providing pirated goods also existed in Hong Kong, Ukraine, Pakistan, Indonesia, Ecuador, Mexico, Philippines, Argentina and India.