Published 11:21 IST, January 16th 2021
Snapdeal tears into US govt agency placing it on Notorious Markets List; exposes lacunae
Snapdeal has opposed a USTR report that placed it on the Notorious Markets List for counterfeiting and piracy and termed it "ill-informed and incorrect."
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New Delhi-based Snapdeal, one of India's largest e-commerce platforms, has opposed a US Trade Representative report that placed it on the Notorious Markets List for counterfeiting and piracy, and termed it "ill-informed and incorrect." Snapdeal and four Indian shopping complexes have figured in the latest 2020 Review of Notorious Markets for Counterfeiting and Piracy issued by the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR).
'Poor understanding of the governing law'
"The report released by the USTR tarnishes the image of the world's leading marketplaces, including Amazon, Mercado Libre, Pinduoduo, Shopee, Snapdeal, Taobao, Tokopedia and many others, based on an incorrect understanding of practices and laws applicable to various markets," a Snapdeal spokesperson said in a statement on Friday.
"The report reflects a poor understanding of the governing law in various jurisdictions, including India. While courts in India continue to uphold and assert the distinction between marketplaces and sellers, the USTR report willfully blurs this distinction to further a flawed point of view. In doing so, it ignores clear and well-established regulatory and legal frameworks under which marketplaces operate," the company said.
The spokesperson said the comments made about Snapdeal were factually incorrect and repeated the falsehoods contained in a 2019 report, which it had also strongly rebutted. "The lack of diligence is evident in including reference to related sites that have ceased to operate four years ago," the company said.
'Unverified reporting is defamatory & unacceptable': Snapdeal
Snapdeal, however, asserted that the USTR report omits any mention of the various on-going, proactive and preventive anti-counterfeiting efforts of the company. These include Snapdeal's robust reporting and swift takedown process program Brand Shield, which has been in operation now for more than two years, it said.
"Such negligent statements and unverified reporting by USTR is defamatory and unacceptable," it said. "The process of collating inputs by USTR continues to be outdated, opaque and based on unverified inputs. We firmly disagree with the 'findings' of the report, specifically in its observations relating to Snapdeal," the spokesperson said.
The four Indian markets that have found mention in the list are Heera Panna in Mumbai, Kidderpore in Kolkata and Palika Bazaar and Tank Road in Delhi. According to media reports, Aizawl's Millennium Center was mentioned in the last list of notorious markets, but now it has been replaced by Palika Bazaar.
The USTR said Snapdeal remains a concern for right holders who report that the volume of counterfeit products on this platform has increased over the past year. "According to a November 2018 survey, 37% of purchasers reported that they had received a counterfeit product from Snapdeal. In July 2019, Snapdeal's founders were accused of criminal conduct in India for selling counterfeit products there. Right holders have also sued Snapdeal for selling counterfeit goods," it said.
(With PTI inputs)
11:21 IST, January 16th 2021