Greenhills Shopping Center remains the only physical market in the Philippines cited for intellectual property violations in the 2025 Review of Notorious Markets for Counterfeiting and Piracy released by the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR).

In its latest report issued 3 March, the USTR said the San Juan City shopping complex continues to be associated with the sale of counterfeit and pirated goods despite enforcement efforts by authorities and mall management.

“Law enforcement authorities, in collaboration with right holders, have conducted raids at the mall, and the management at Greenhills Shopping Center has applied a three-strikes rule to take action against counterfeit sellers,” the USTR noted.

“The management reports that almost 300 vendor stalls have been removed over the past year for selling counterfeit goods. The government, through the National Committee on Intellectual Property Rights (NCIPR), is working with right holders and shopping center management to implement a transition program to transform Greenhills Shopping Center into a high-end mall with legitimate sellers,” it added.

The USTR also cited efforts by the National Committee on Intellectual Property Rights to coordinate with mall officials and the San Juan City government, including the establishment of a pilot help desk at the shopping complex.

However, the report said concerns remain among intellectual property rights holders.

“Although right holders have welcomed these developments, they also continue to observe a significant number of counterfeit goods and continue to wait and see if the transition program will resolve their concerns about the volume of counterfeit goods,” the USTR said.

Earlier, the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) expressed hope that intensified enforcement measures would help remove the mall from the watch list.

In a submission to the USTR last October, Acting Director General Nathaniel Arevalo said the government had made “significant progress” in curbing the sale of counterfeit and pirated goods in the complex.

Greenhills was also the sole Philippine physical market cited in the 2024 report.

The USTR compiles the list annually under the Special 301 process to identify physical and online markets worldwide that are reported to facilitate substantial trademark counterfeiting or copyright piracy.