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Various infringing distribution hubs such 4shared, Rapidgator, and Zippyshare continue to make official list

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) released its report on Notorious Markets today, highlighting some of the greatest impediments to the growth of legitimate digital trade. RIAA released the following statement from Neil Turkewitz, EVP International:

“As we outlined in our submission to USTR, there are far too many sites operating around the world who still think it is acceptable to operate businesses based on providing access to infringing music and other materials. In an era in which the music industry has embraced digital technologies for the distribution and communication of music in a myriad of ways that expand consumer choice and legitimate access, there is simply no excuse for permitting these sites to continue to operate on this basis. We express our appreciation to USTR and the U.S. government for their dedication to calling out these rogue actors, and for highlighting the need for greater accountability in the Internet ecosystem so that technological progress can go hand in hand with the creation of new opportunities for American creators and the U.S. economy.”

“This year’s report identifies some of the most prominent and well known infringing distribution hubs like 4shared, Rapidgator, and Zippyshare that remain responsible for massive levels of infringing activity.  It also highlights sites like Russia’s vKontakte  and Ukraine’s ex.ua which want the protection of safe harbors through notice and takedown even when they choose to maintain infringing services. We note the report also names a number of notorious BitTorrent sites like KAT.cr (KickassTorrents) and Torrentz.eu.

“Importantly, the report recognizes the role hosting services play in supporting notorious sites, specifically referencing Switzerland-based Private Layer as the hoster of a group of pirate sites.  Switzerland recently announced a major planned revision of its laws to enhance the ability to fight Internet piracy, and we hope that this will effectively address its role in hosting too many of the world’s notorious markets.”