Someone copied your logo or brand name: what to do

1. Find your situation

2. Gather evidence

1. Capture every copy: exact URL, dated screenshots, account, seller or advertiser name, prices. For a serious dispute, ask your lawyer about formal evidence capture.
2. Prove you came first: the logo's source files and their dates, emails and invoices with the designer or agency, first use online and in print.
3. Check that you own the logo: if a freelancer or agency designed it, they may still hold the copyright unless a written agreement assigns it to you (in the US, a logo made by a freelancer is generally not a "work made for hire", so you need a written assignment). Find that contract.
4. Record signs of confusion: customers contacting you about orders placed elsewhere, reviews that are not about you, "is this you?" messages. These are often the strongest evidence of harm.
5. Hold off on contacting the other side: a warned account or site may rename itself or wipe its traces.

3. Check what is registered, by you and by them

1. Search the registers: USPTO Trademark Search (US), the UK IPO trade mark search (UK) and TMview (EU, EU member states and many other offices, with image search for logos).
2. If your mark is registered, note the registration number, the classes (goods and services covered) and the countries: platforms ask for them.
3. If it is not, you still have options: copyright in an original logo, and unregistered rights built through use (common-law trademark rights in the US, passing off in the UK). But trademark-only tools (platform trademark forms, Meta Brand Rights Protection) will be closed to you, and Amazon Brand Registry opens only once you have filed an application. Talk to a trademark attorney about filing.
4. If the other side has filed your name or logo, deadlines are short: oppositions must be filed within three months of publication at the EUIPO, two months (extendable to three) in the UK, and 30 days (extendable) at the USPTO. After that, cancellation is still possible but harder. Get professional help now.

4. Get copies taken down online

1. Social media: report the account or post as impersonation if it poses as you, and use the trademark form if your mark is registered (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, YouTube).
2. Without a registered mark, the logo can be reported as a copyrighted work (a DMCA notice for US services), as long as you hold the rights. See where to report copyright infringement.
3. Ads: find every ad from the same advertiser in the Meta Ad Library and the Google Ads Transparency Center, and report each one. With a registered mark, also file a trademark complaint through "Report Content On Google".
4. Marketplaces:
   • Amazon: the Report Infringement form is open to rights owners; the free Amazon Brand Registry requires a registered or pending trademark and adds stronger reporting tools.
   • eBay: the VeRO program for rights owners.
   • Etsy: the Etsy Reporting Portal for listings, and the IP infringement report form for shop names, usernames and videos.
   • Other marketplaces operating in the EU must offer a way to report illegal content under the Digital Services Act: look for a "report" or "intellectual property" link.
5. Websites: write to the host (and to the registrar for a scam site) with your evidence. For clone sites and look-alike domains, see section 5 of our brand impersonation guide.
6. Be careful with reports you are not sure of: platforms often share your name with the person reported, they can file a counter-notice, and a knowingly false claim can expose you to liability.

5. When it is a lawyer's job

Platforms will not settle complex trademark disputes. Talk to an intellectual property lawyer or trademark attorney when:

1. the copy comes from an identifiable competitor trading under a similar name or logo (cease-and-desist, infringement or passing-off claim);
2. the other side has filed a trademark close to yours (opposition, cancellation);
3. you want compensation for lost sales or harm to your reputation;
4. physical counterfeit goods are involved (customs recordation, seizures);
5. a platform refuses to act despite a strong file and you need a court order.

These steps take time and money: a lawyer can tell you what your case can realistically achieve. This page is general information, not legal advice.