Counterfeits of your brand on Amazon and other marketplaces: what to do

1. Counterfeit, misleading listing or stolen photos: which case?

The ground you report on depends on what the listing does. Pick the right one, or the platform will reject it.

If your mark is not registered, or an identifiable competitor uses a logo close to yours, start with our guide logo copied or brand name taken, which covers checking your rights and proving you came first. This page is about listings and products on marketplaces.

2. Build your file before you report

1. List every listing: exact URL, product ID (ASIN on Amazon, item number on eBay), seller name, price, dated screenshots. Counterfeit sellers often run several listings: search for your brand, product names and photos (reverse image search helps, see someone is using my photos).
2. Gather your rights: registration number, office (USPTO, UK IPO, EUIPO), classes covered; for photos, the original files and their dates.
3. Make a test buy for physical goods: order from a normal account, keep the order number, photograph the sealed parcel, the shipping label, the product and what sets it apart from the genuine one (labels, batch numbers, finish). Keep the item. In practice, Amazon asks for a test-buy order number when you report a counterfeit. If the case may go to court, ask your attorney how to document the purchase so it holds up as evidence.
4. Do not contact the seller: once warned, they switch listings or accounts.
5. Only report what you are sure of: platforms often share your name and email with the seller, who can file a counter-notice, and a knowingly false claim can expose you to liability.

3. Amazon: Report Infringement and Brand Registry

1. Without Brand Registry: the Report Infringement form is open to any rights owner or authorized agent. You sign in with an Amazon account; it does not have to be a seller account. Give the type of right (trademark, copyright, patent), the ASINs and your registration number.
2. With Brand Registry: Amazon Brand Registry is free. You need an active registered trademark or a pending application with a government office Amazon accepts, a logo with your brand name permanently affixed to your products or packaging, and to be the trademark owner (or be added as a user by the owner).
3. What Brand Registry adds: the Report a Violation tool to file and track reports in one place; Project Zero to remove certain listings yourself; Transparency serial codes on each unit; and Amazon's Counterfeit Crimes Unit, which works with law enforcement.
4. One right per report: do not mix trademark and copyright in the same submission, and be specific about what was copied ("main image copied from our product page", not "they took our photo").
5. Track the answer: Amazon may ask for more information. Keep every case number.

4. Other marketplaces

1. eBay: the VeRO program is for rights owners and their authorized representatives. You need an eBay account; reports go through the VeRO Portal as a Notice of Claimed Infringement (NOCI), and counterfeits and replicas are covered.
2. Etsy: the Etsy Reporting Portal for listings, and the IP infringement report form for shop names and usernames.
3. Temu: the Report Infringement page; you need an account.
4. AliExpress: Alibaba's IP Protection Platform (IPP). You create an account, prove your identity (company documents, power of attorney) and register your rights before filing.
5. Shein: the Intellectual Property Notice Portal, linked from the Intellectual Property Notice page; an account is required, plus a power of attorney if you act for the owner.
6. Elsewhere: in the EU, marketplaces must offer a way to report illegal content (Digital Services Act, art. 16) and must collect the identity of the traders they host (art. 30). With no visible form, look for "report" or "intellectual property" in the footer, or use our takedown request template.

If the sellers also run a fake website in your name, see our guide on fake websites impersonating a business.

5. Customs: stopping counterfeits at the border

Removing a listing does not remove the stock. Customs can detain suspected fakes on arrival if you have told them what to look for.

1. United States: record your federally registered trademark with CBP through e-Recordation. CBP charges $190 per class of goods, and the recordation runs as long as the USPTO registration.
2. United Kingdom: file an Application for Action with HMRC online. It is free and valid for one year, but you pay the costs once Border Force detains goods, and you may owe compensation if the goods turn out not to infringe.
3. European Union: file an application for action through the EUIPO's IP Enforcement Portal (IPEP), under Regulation (EU) No 608/2013. You need an EORI number. A Union application, based on an EU trademark, covers the EU countries you select.
4. Describe your genuine products: packaging, labels, where they are made, authorized distributors, the signs that give a fake away. The more precise, the more copies customs will catch.
5. Respond fast when customs notifies you of a detention: deadlines are short. This is when you need an attorney.

6. When to bring in a trademark attorney

Platforms remove listings; they do not punish anyone. Talk to a trademark attorney or intellectual property lawyer when:

1. the same seller keeps coming back under new accounts, or sells in volume;
2. you want damages or the seizure of stock;
3. customs has detained goods and is waiting for you;
4. the seller contests your report or accuses you of a false claim;
5. your mark is not registered yet: filing (USPTO, UK IPO, EUIPO) opens Brand Registry, trademark forms and customs recordation.

Selling counterfeit goods is a civil wrong under the Lanham Act in the US and can be a federal crime (18 U.S.C. § 2320); in the UK it can be a criminal offence under section 92 of the Trade Marks Act 1994. This page is general information, not legal advice.