WIPO readies Alert Pay system to help cut off payments to piracy and counterfeit sites
The article reports that the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is preparing to launch WIPO ALERT-PAY, a new global initiative designed to disrupt the financial infrastructure supporting piracy and counterfeit websites. Building on the existing WIPO ALERT advertising blocklist, the new system will enable rights holders to share information directly with payment service providers, aiming to cut off revenue streams that sustain illegal online businesses.
WIPO ALERT-PAY will operate as a secure, voluntary platform connecting rights holders with payment providers such as PayPal and Mastercard. When a rights holder identifies a pirate or counterfeit website accepting payments for subscriptions or products, it can submit evidence to the platform. After a notification and review process, payment providers receive the information and decide whether to suspend or terminate the merchant’s account under their own terms of service. WIPO itself will not determine whether copyright infringement has occurred, acting only as the administrator of the platform and the notification process.
The system was tested through a pilot programme between November 2024 and August 2025, involving six rights holders and two payment providers. During the trial, 35 websites were reported across 17 enforcement actions, with 71% of the flagged sites either taken offline or having the infringing goods or services removed. Participants considered the pilot successful and suitable for wider deployment.
The pilot also revealed that some piracy and counterfeit websites falsely displayed PayPal and Mastercard logos despite not actually accepting those payment methods, suggesting they were attempting to appear more legitimate to consumers. WIPO believes broader adoption of ALERT-PAY could significantly disrupt the business models of piracy operators by making it more difficult to process payments from customers.
Unlike traditional enforcement measures such as domain blocking or content takedowns, ALERT-PAY follows a “follow the money” strategy. Rather than removing infringing content directly, it seeks to deprive pirate and counterfeit operators of their ability to receive payments, thereby reducing the financial incentives for operating illegal services. This complements WIPO ALERT, which already helps advertisers avoid placing ads on infringing websites.
According to WIPO, development of the automated platform is nearing completion, and support currently includes PayPal and Mastercard, with plans to add additional payment providers in the future. Once launched, ALERT-PAY is expected to become another global enforcement tool helping rights holders combat online piracy and counterfeiting through international cooperation between intellectual property owners and financial service providers.
