TikTok Shop Intellectual Property Policy

Overview

• This TikTok Shop/ShopTokopedia Intellectual Property Policy (hereafter referred to as "this Policy") is designed to protect intellectual property rights holders, and prevent intellectual property infringement on TikTok Shop/ShopTokopedia (hereafter referred to as "the platform").
• The Platform may take enforcement action as set out in this Policy, the Seller Performance Evaluation Policy, Creator Performance Evaluation Policy, the Seller Terms of Service, and the Creator Terms of Service.
• This Policy applies to Sellers and Creators (hereafter referred to as "users"). Where explicitly stated, parts of this Policy also apply to IPR owners or authorized licensees.
• This Policy is not exhaustive, and users are solely responsible for ensuring that they do not engage in any practice that is prohibited under this Policy, and that they comply with applicable laws and regulations, and all Platform Terms and Policies.
• Users may wish to seek independent legal advice if they have questions about the laws and regulations concerning their practices.
• Our Policies are updated periodically. We will generally notify you in advance of any changes to this Policy. Please see the Seller Terms of Service and Creator Terms of Service for details of how we may make changes to our terms and policies. Users are responsible for checking this page regularly to ensure they comply with our Policy.

Definitions

Defined terms in this Policy have the following meaning:

• IP means Intellectual Property, which generally refers to creations of the mind, such as inventions, designs, artistic works and trademarks, that are protected by law.
• IPR means Intellectual Property Rights, which are the legal protections granted to the owners of IP, allowing them to control and profit from their creations by preventing unauthorized use.

General Principles

Trademark Infringement

A trademark generally includes but is not limited to words, symbols, slogans, designs, shapes, or their combinations that identify the source of a product or service and distinguishes it from other products or services. Trademark infringement may occur when the rights attached to a trademark are used without the trademark owner's consent. This includes using a trademark in connection with goods or services in a way that is likely to cause confusion, deception or mistake about the source, origin, sponsorship or affiliation of the associated goods and/or services.
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Copyright Infringement

Copyright is generally a legal right that protects original works and stops others from using it without the owner's permission. Graphics, paintings, photos, videos, text, and songs are examples of works that may be protected by copyright. Copyright infringement may involve using copyrighted material in product descriptions, listing products with copyrighted content, or selling products that reproduce copyrighted material without the owner's consent or legal authorization.
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Patent Infringement

Patents generally protect inventions and give the owner the right to prevent others from producing, using, transferring, leasing, importing, exporting, or offering to transfer or lease anything using or made with the invention in the jurisdiction that the patent is granted. Patent infringement may include producing, using, transferring, leasing, importing, exporting, or offering to transfer or lease a patented product, or offering a patented process without permission from the IPR owner within the jurisdiction where the patent is granted.
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Design Infringement

Designs generally refer to the appearance and shape of the whole or part of a product (e.g. its shape and/or decoration). Whether three-dimensional or two-dimensional, designs may be protected by different design rights in different jurisdictions. The owners of such rights have the exclusive rights to manufacture, use, transfer, lease, export, import or offer to transfer or lease products for or incorporating the designs. Design infringement may involve manufacturing, using, transferring, leasing, exporting, importing or offering to transfer or lease a product with a design similar to a legally-protected one without authorization, or stocking products with unauthorized designs without the consent of the design owner.
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Counterfeits and Knockoffs

IP infringement may also arise in the presentation or sale of counterfeit products and/or knockoff products.

• Counterfeiting refers to the unauthorized use of a trademark that is identical or very similar to another's registered trademark on the same goods covered by the registration or on its packaging.
• "Knockoffs", also known as "lookalike" or "copycat" products refer to products that resemble branded, authentic products, but are not identical to them. They typically lack an identical trademark or logo of the brand they are trying to imitate and are often of lower quality or priced lower than the original goods they imitate. Knockoffs may also have a similar trademark, logo, color compositions, packaging, product design and/or "get-up" (where applicable) to the original goods they imitate.

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Prohibited Practices

• The listing, advertising, marketing and/or sale of IPR infringing products;
• The unauthorized use of IP protected marketing materials and/or product images of third parties;
• The unauthorized use of IP protected products of third parties for marketing materials or product imaging;
• Brand circumvention behaviours (including, but not limited to stickers, smears, papers, text, or mosaic or tape etc.) that obscure or hide (brand) marks to prevent the identification of IP infringement; and
• Behaviours and/or written or verbal messages (including text, image, sound, and video) that imply the sale of third-party IPR infringing products.

Listing Trademark Protected Products

• Sellers who intend to list products with trademarks, names or logos that they do not have the rights to, should obtain prior authorisation from the relevant IPR holder. Once obtained, Sellers should upload documentation confirming this authorisation onto the Seller Center.
• Notwithstanding the above, the platform may require Sellers to submit brand authorisation documentation and/or invoicing history before Sellers can list certain products.
• Sellers whose product listings are rejected due to "missing brand authorisation and/or invoicing history" will be required to upload acceptable brand authorisation and/or invoicing history documentation before they can list these products.
• Please refer to the Brand Qualification article for further guidance.

IPR Infringement Notice Submission Process

IPR owners, their exclusive licensees or other licensees who are explicitly authorized by the IPR owners to take such actions as described in this section (the "authorized licensees") may file an IPR infringement notice by themselves or through their authorized representatives. Before submitting an IPR infringement notice, please be aware that intentionally submitting a misleading or fraudulent notice may lead to liability for damages or other penalties under applicable laws. If you are not sure if you are the proper IPR owner or if IP laws protect the material, please get in touch with a lawyer.
Note: we may provide the account holder you identify in your IPR infringement notice with your contact information, including the e-mail address and the name of the IPR owner, and/or other details of the notice, in accordance with our Terms of Services and Privacy Policy.IPR infringement notices may be submitted via these platforms:

• Intellectual Property Protection Centre (IPPC): IPR owners/authorized licensees may use the Intellectual Property Protection Centre (IPPC) to submit an IPR infringement notice. For more details, please click here.
• Intellectual Property Rights Report form: If an IPR owner/authorized licensee is unable to access the IPPC, the IPR owner/authorized licensee may file an online IPR infringement notice by submitting a Intellectual Property Rights Report form.

For more information on reporting and appealing, please read the How to Report IP infringements article.

Appeals

If you are a Seller or Creator, and believe you had received an IPR infringement notice in error or you are authorized to use the product and/or content, you can file an appeal through the Seller Center by raising a ticket. The Platform will then investigate the case and take corrective actions where applicable. Please refer to the Appeal Guidelines for IPR Penalties article for more information on the appeal process.

Identification and Investigation of IP Infringement

Identification of Suspected Infringement

• The platform has mechanisms and processes to prevent the infringement of IPR and to react to notifications of (potential) IP infringement. When the platform identifies a potential IP infringement, we may require a Seller to provide us with documentation, such as brand authorisation, invoicing history, or proof of product authenticity with respect to their product listings.
• The platform expressly reserves the right and has sole discretion to take all appropriate measures when IP infringement is suspected, including taking immediate action to remove or de-list the relevant product listing and notify the user. Unless required to do so in accordance with applicable laws or regulations, the platform may not provide prior notice to the Seller before removing or de-listing such products (please see the Seller Performance Evaluation Policy or Creator Enforcement Policy for more information).

Investigation

• TikTok reserves the right to seek support from IPR holders or instruct third-party agencies to conduct investigations. A product will be considered to infringe IPR in the following non-exhaustive situations:
  • We receive formal notification and sufficient supporting documents from a regulator, authority, IPR holder, manufacturer, agency of the IPR holder, or any other party that TikTok in its sole discretion considers appropriate, evidencing that the product is infringing IPR;
  • A final court judgment between the IPR holder and the user concludes that the product is unlawful, for example, because it infringes IPR and/or constitutes unfair competition;
  • The user receives a notification from TikTok regarding the suspected infringing product, but fails to file an appeal within the timelines as prescribed by TikTok (please see the Seller Performance Evaluation Policy or Creator Enforcement Policy for more information).
  • The user admits that the product is infringing IPR; or
  • A certified third-party quality inspection agency or authenticity identification agency tested and/or identified the goods to be unqualified or non-genuine and/or of a lower level of quality compared to the branded, authentic goods.
• If a Seller is found to have offered or sold a product to a customer which violates this Policy, the Seller must issue the customer with a full refund in accordance with the Customer Order, Cancellation, Return and Refund Policy and this Policy.