Japan, the United States and the European Union are planning to reinforce countermeasures against the illicit trade in counterfeit products in cooperation with online marketplace operators, sources familiar with the matter said Saturday.
With the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development playing a central role in the move, the like-minded partners will cooperate with online marketplace operators such as Amazon.com Inc. and Rakuten Group Inc. and aim to formulate guidelines in 2025 or later to prevent fake brand goods from being traded online.
The economic impact of counterfeits has become widespread and enormous, with many such goods being produced and put on sale in China and other emerging countries.
The sources said discussing countermeasures with the involvement of online marketplace operators is significant, since it is difficult for the OECD, which is primarily made up of high-income economies, to put pressure on online merchants in emerging countries.
The OECD set up a task force on countering counterfeit trade in late 2022 and began government-level discussions on the matter last month.
By setting guidelines, the OECD hopes to urge operators to intensify efforts to prevent the trading of counterfeit goods such as shoes, clothes, bags and cosmetics. It also expects governments to develop legislation to eradicate counterfeits.
Online marketplace operators are likely to be requested under the guidelines to implement strict identity verifications for sellers so that companies whose intellectual property rights are infringed will be able to take the appropriate legal action.
