How to report counterfeit and copycat listings on eBay, Temu and Europe's marketplaces

Brand owners and their authorised agents report counterfeit and copycat listings through each marketplace's own reporting route: Amazon's Report Infringement form in each EU or UK store, eBay's VeRO Portal, Temu's IP Portal, Alibaba's IP Protection Platform for AliExpress and Alibaba.com, and ManoMano's illegal-content form. Every notice should name the right the listing infringes (a trade mark, a design, a utility model or the copyright in your photos) and give the exact listing URLs. Under the EU's Digital Services Act, marketplaces must confirm receipt and decide each notice in a timely, diligent, non-arbitrary and objective way, and all but micro and small ones must offer a free complaint route, but each platform decides. UK stores need UK rights: EU trade marks have not covered the UK since 1 January 2021.

Counterfeit, copycat or look-alike: which right to use

Marketplaces act on a specific right, so match it to what was copied.

• Your name or logo on goods you didn't make: a trade mark. An EU trade mark has equal effect throughout the EU. In the course of trade, its owner can prohibit others from using an identical sign for identical goods, or an identical or similar sign for identical or similar goods where the public is likely to be confused (a mark with a reputation gets wider protection), including putting the sign on goods or packaging, offering, stocking, importing or exporting goods under it, and using it in advertising.¹ Amazon requires a registered trade mark, design or patent to be "registered in the country where you are reporting", and its guide to the form says pending applications and unregistered marks can't support a counterfeit report.^2,3
• The UK is separate. EU trade marks have not been protected in the UK since 1 January 2021; the UK Intellectual Property Office created a comparable, fully independent UK trade mark for every EU trade mark registered before then, numbered UK009 followed by the EU mark's last eight digits. It is renewed with the UK office separately from the EU mark, and one whose owner opted out is treated as never registered, so check the UK register before relying on it. Amazon's UK help applies the same country rule.^4,5 EU designs stopped covering the UK on the same date: Community designs registered and published by then got re-registered UK designs, also renewed separately, and the UK's supplementary unregistered design, its counterpart to the unregistered EU design, arises only from first disclosure in the UK, not in the EU.^6,7
• Your product's shape or look, without a logo: a design. A registered EU design lets its holder prohibit making, offering, marketing, importing, exporting or stocking a product that incorporates it, and covers any design that doesn't give the informed user a different overall impression. An unregistered EU design lasts three years from the design's first disclosure within the EU and works only against copying. Either kind protects only a design that was new and had individual character, and not features dictated solely by technical function; the right belongs to the designer or their successor in title or, unless agreed otherwise, to the employer for a design an employee created in the course of their duties or on the employer's instructions, and a registered design's holder is presumed entitled.⁸ To rely on one in court, EUIPO says you must prove the date and place of first disclosure, that your design is the one disclosed, that interested circles in the EU could have known of it, and that the other party copied it; under a one-year grace period, a design first disclosed less than a year ago can still be registered.⁹ Community designs became EU designs in the reform codified in Regulation (EU) 2026/715; Amazon's pages still say "registered Community design".^2,8,10
• A technical feature: a utility model or patent. Amazon notes that Germany, France, Italy and Spain have utility models. eBay's policy covers them, and Alibaba's platform takes utility-model complaints, asking for an analysis that compares each protected feature with the listed product.^2,11,12
• Your photos or listing text: copyright, if the work is original and the rights are yours. Copyright protects only a work that is its author's own intellectual creation, and the author, such as the photographer or copywriter, typically owns it unless your contract gives you the rights. Amazon's form, eBay's VeRO and Temu's IP Portal are for the rights owner or an agent it has authorised.^2,13,14,15 See copied and AI-made product photos.

Some things aren't infringement. Genuine goods put on the market in the European Economic Area by the owner, or with its consent, can be resold there unless there are legitimate reasons to object, such as a changed condition. Amazon's and eBay's pages say the same, and Amazon describes a parallel import as goods never imported into the EEA with your consent.^1,2,11 Distribution agreements aren't IP: eBay won't act on them, and Amazon accepts them only in France. EU trade mark law also lets others use your mark, in line with honest practices, to say what their product is for, such as an accessory or a spare part; Amazon doesn't act against truthful statements that a product is compatible with yours, and eBay tells sellers of products made for a brand to write "fits/for".^1,2,11,13

What to collect before you file

• Each listing's URL, and on Amazon the ASIN in each store.
• The seller's details. EU marketplaces must show each trader's name, address, phone number, email address, trade-register details and self-certification with the product; capture them.¹⁶
• Registration numbers for each right and country and, for an unregistered design, dated evidence of its first disclosure in the EU.⁹
• Your original images, with file dates and where you first published them and, for photos you didn't take in-house, the contract or written authority that lets you report them.²
• Test buys. Amazon's guide to the form requires one, with its order ID, to report a single seller's offer for trade mark or copyright infringement; Temu lists test-purchase order IDs as supporting documents.^3,14
• Proof of authority if an agent files: Alibaba, for one, asks for the rights holder's ID and a letter of authorisation.¹⁷
• Dated captures and a tracking sheet of when each listing was found and reported, where, the reference number and the outcome.

Platform by platform: where to report and what happens next

Each marketplace decides on every notice.

Amazon's EU and UK stores

Amazon runs stores in Germany, Italy, Ireland, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Sweden, Poland and Belgium, and in the UK.^5,18 Our Amazon guide covers the Report Infringement form, Brand Registry, Project Zero and test buys. Amazon's European pages describe the same tools; these are the differences.^2,19

• Who and where. Rights owners and agents signed in to an Amazon account use the Report Infringement form (amazon.de/report/infringement on Amazon.de) or, for enrolled brands, Report a Violation in Brand Registry.^2,20
• Rights by country. Amazon takes "a valid trademark, copyright, patent, or design right claim on a national level", and its guide to the form asks for a trade mark registration "enforceable in the jurisdiction of the Amazon store you're signed in to". The public pages we read don't say outright how it treats an EU trade mark in each EU store: Brand Registry's country requirements need a log-in, and Amazon recommends submitting trade marks for each country store.^2,3,19
• Designs and parallel imports. Report a whole ASIN or one seller's offer for design infringement, and parallel imports as trade mark or copyright infringement, saying whether the whole product or only some sellers' goods never entered the EEA with your consent.²
• After you file. For a valid notice, Amazon gives the sellers your secondary contact details, or your primary ones if there are none; if it accepts the notice, it removes the content.² Amazon.de combines automated means with expert human review, and the original submitter can dispute a rejection within 180 days through the link in Amazon's decision. Other illegal products go through "Report an issue with this product".²¹

eBay: the VeRO programme

• Who and where. VeRO is only for rights owners and their authorised representatives, who report through the VeRO Portal (sign-in required), where they can also manage several brands. eBay also describes a Notice of Claimed Infringement (NOCI) form via askvero@ebay.com (askvero@ebay.de on eBay.de). Others use "Submit report" on the listing.^13,22,23
• What it covers. Counterfeits and replicas, copyright (including copied or edited images), trade marks, designs, patents, utility models and unauthorised parallel imports; not distribution or pricing agreements, or stolen goods.^11,13
• After you file. eBay checks that the report is complete and accurate and may ask for more. An infringing listing may be removed and the seller told why (on eBay.de, also of any right to complain). A listing can return after a successful appeal or a fix; repeat infringers may face selling restrictions or suspension. Retract by email from an authorised address.^13,22

Temu: the IP Portal

Temu's IP policy on its German and French sites, last updated 11 August 2026, covers copyrights, trade marks, designs, patents and other IP rights.¹⁴

• Who and where. The rights owner or an authorised agent files through the IP Portal, which needs a Temu account; for trade marks, Temu's Brand Registry Portal stores your brand information for later complaints. Other users can use "Report This Item".^14,24
• What to include. The right (a registration number or, for copyright, a description, publication date or link); where the infringement is (product, packaging, product detail page images or text); the URLs; supporting documents such as test-purchase order IDs; your name and email; and a good-faith statement. Reports must be sworn under penalty of perjury.¹⁴
• After you file. On a valid report Temu removes the content, acts against the seller and notifies you both. If the seller's challenge looks well founded, Temu invites your evidence before deciding whether to reverse the removal; if it declines your report, you can complain through the link in its notification. Withdrawals go through the IP Portal.¹⁴

AliExpress and Alibaba.com: Alibaba's IP Protection Platform

Alibaba's international IP Protection Platform (IPP), at ipp.aidcgroup.net, takes complaints about AliExpress, Alibaba.com, Lazada and Miravia from one account.¹⁷

• Set-up. Verify your identity (an ID document, or business registration for a company) and each right (its certificate or, for unregistered copyright, a Copyright Claim Statement); agents add the rights holder's ID and a letter of authorisation. A pending application isn't accepted as proof, and verified documents are reused while valid.^17,25
• EU designs. Registered and unregistered EU designs are accepted. For an unregistered one, the claim statement asks for the date and place of first public disclosure within the previous three years, with evidence, and a sworn statement; a design claim should include a comparison showing the protected features in the listed product.²⁶
• After you file. Once a takedown request is verified, the listing is taken down; sellers may file counter-notices, which are forwarded to you, and the platform may reinstate the listing after reviewing both sides' evidence.¹⁷
• Other routes. An online form serves occasional reporters, and notices with prima facie evidence go to aidc-ipr@alibaba-inc.com if you plan judicial or administrative action.¹⁷ See also AliExpress copyright infringement.

ManoMano

• Who and where. Any individual or entity can report content or offers it considers illegal, counterfeits included, through "Notifier un contenu illicite" in the site footer, a form that also comes in English, Italian, German and Spanish.^27,28
• What to include. A detailed explanation of why the content is illegal, with any relevant documents; an insufficiently substantiated, unclear or misleading notice can't be processed favourably. You declare good faith and accept that ManoMano may be required to disclose your notice, including your personal data, to third parties, including those concerned by the alleged illegality; the form's tick-box adds that it may share your identity with the sellers where strictly necessary.²⁸
• After you file. ManoMano acknowledges receipt by email, then decides: it may remove the content or offers and send the seller a formal notice or suspend or close its account, and content can return if the seller fixes it or proves it lawful. You can appeal through the link in the decision email, quoting your notification number.²⁸ Its terms, which are governed by French law, point out that in France presenting content to a host as illegal to get it removed, knowing the claim is inaccurate, is punishable by a year's imprisonment and a €15,000 fine.²⁹

Where to report counterfeit and copycat listings in Europe (checked 16 October 2026):

Copied and AI-made product photos

• Is the photo protected? EU law protects photographs that are their author's own intellectual creation and lets Member States protect others;³⁰ Germany protects simple photographs too, generally for 50 years from publication, and gives that right to the photographer.³¹ The EU Court of Justice has held that a photographer can make free and creative choices of background, pose, lighting, framing, angle of view and atmosphere, and that whether a photo is protected is for the national court to decide (Case C‑145/10, about a portrait).¹⁵ Posting on one website a photo that was freely downloadable, with the right holder's consent, on another is itself a communication to the public (Case C‑161/17).³²
• How marketplaces handle it. eBay lists copied images, stock photos used without permission and "editing and using images that were copied from other websites or internet searches" as potential copyright infringement, and bans photos that don't accurately represent the item.^11,33 Amazon takes reports about an image on a product detail page (the page and its ASIN stay live), and Temu lists product detail page images among its infringement types.^2,14
• Images from your own listings. Images you add to an Amazon product detail page are licensed to Amazon, and sellers of identical items may list on that page. If a seller copies them to another product's page without your permission, Amazon says that seller could be infringing your copyright, and you can report it; a seller listing a non-matching item on your page goes to Amazon's contact form instead.^2,20 On eBay, the images and product details in your own listings may be added to its product catalogue and used by other sellers.³⁴
• AI re-creations. We found no marketplace help page on AI-made re-creations of product photos, so report them like any copied or edited image: as copyright if the new image reproduces protected expression from yours, or under your design or trade mark if the listing offers a copy of your product, or uses your mark for goods that weren't put on the EEA market by you or with your consent. Copyright covers reproduction "by any means and in any form, in whole or in part"; whether a re-creation that keeps some of your photo's creative choices and changes others reproduces protected expression from it is for independent counsel.^1,15,35

Is there a DMCA in Europe? How the Digital Services Act works

The DMCA is US law; eBay calls it "a statute of US copyright law" and sends concerns about items on its non-US sites that aren't for sale to the US, and non-copyright concerns, to the VeRO Portal.¹³ In the EU, the Digital Services Act has applied since 17 February 2024 and sets common notice-and-action rules for hosting services, marketplaces included; its examples of illegal content include "the sale of non-compliant or counterfeit products" and "the non-authorised use of copyright protected material".¹⁶

• Knowledge and liability. A host isn't liable for stored content if it acts expeditiously once it knows the content is illegal; a notice gives it that knowledge when a diligent provider could see the illegality without a detailed legal examination, so make the infringement plain in the notice.¹⁶
• What a notice should contain. A substantiated explanation, the exact URLs, your name and email address, and a good-faith statement that the notice is accurate and complete.¹⁶
• What the platform must do. Accept notices by electronic means, confirm receipt and notify its decision and the redress available without undue delay, decide in a timely, diligent, non-arbitrary and objective manner, and say if it used automated means. The seller gets a statement of reasons, naming the notifier only where strictly necessary.¹⁶
• If you disagree. Online platforms other than micro and small ones must let notifiers, and sellers affected by a decision, complain for at least six months, electronically and free of charge, and point them to certified out-of-court dispute settlement; the courts stay open.¹⁶
• Trusted flaggers. Their notices get priority. The status is awarded by the Digital Services Coordinator where an entity is established: "Only EU-based entities can apply", and the DSA encourages industry associations to. Still, "Providers have the sole responsibility to decide upon notices".^16,36 Anyone can file without the status.^16,18
• Misuse. Online platforms other than micro and small ones must suspend, for a reasonable period and after a warning, the processing of notices from anyone who frequently submits manifestly unfounded ones.¹⁶

When reports aren't enough

The marketplace rejects your notice

Read the reason, fix what was missing (such as a right for that country, exact URLs or a test buy) and refile, or complain: Amazon's dispute form within 180 days, Temu's complaint link or ManoMano's appeal link, then certified out-of-court bodies or the courts.^14,16,21,28

The same sellers come back

Keep records by seller, using the name, address and trade-register number the listing must show.¹⁶ Online platforms other than micro and small ones must suspend, after a warning, users who frequently provide manifestly illegal content, and eBay may restrict or suspend repeat infringers.^13,16

The goods come from outside the EU

Under Regulation (EU) No 608/2013, rights holders can ask the competent customs department to act on goods suspected of infringing their trade mark, design, copyright, patent or utility model as they enter or leave the EU. For a right with effect throughout the EU, such as an EU trade mark or EU design, a Union application asks other Member States' customs to act too. The applicant undertakes to bear customs' costs, such as storing and destroying detained goods, and can be liable to the goods' holder, under national law, if they turn out not to infringe, so prepare the application with independent counsel.³⁷

You need to act against the seller

Marketplaces disclose a trader's ID and payment details only where the law requires it, for example under an order.¹⁶ Infringement actions on unregistered EU designs go to the EU design courts, not EUIPO.⁹ Warning letters and court action, including any order for a seller's details, go through independent counsel in the relevant country.

Doing this at scale

For one product on one marketplace, this is manageable by hand. Across Europe, one copy can appear in several Amazon stores and on other marketplaces at once, under changing seller names, and the work becomes a cycle: monitoring, confirming each listing, test-buying doubtful ones, filing in each platform's format with the right registration, following up rejections and counter-notices, and watching for returning sellers.

• Map rights to stores. List each registration (EU, national, UK, design, utility model) against the stores it supports.
• Batch by right and issue. Amazon takes up to 50 products per report for one infringement type and issue, and processes one type of IP per notice.^2,3
• Accuracy first. Confirm each listing before it is reported and keep the evidence behind every notice: Amazon.de may suspend your access to a reporting feature you misuse, and Temu may suspend reporters who repeatedly file manifestly unfounded reports.^14,21 A wrong notice can also lead to a claim by the seller. In the UK, an unjustified threat of proceedings for infringing a registered trade mark, design or patent can be challenged by anyone it harms, who can claim damages, and the Court of Appeal held that complaints asking Amazon to remove a rival's products, under a patent later found invalid, were such threats ([2023] EWCA Civ 1502).^38,39,40 In Germany, an appeal court held that a counterfeit complaint to Amazon about genuine goods was an unjustified IP warning for which the seller could claim damages (Oberlandesgericht Nürnberg, 3 U 136/25).⁴¹ Have independent counsel check doubtful cases before they are filed.
• Close the loop. Re-check reported listings, record outcomes and use the complaint routes within their time limits.

Bytescare runs this cycle for brands and manufacturers: monitoring the marketplaces you choose on your plan's scan cycle, evidence and test buys, the notices you approve, filed in each platform's format and tracked to a decision, and, if you choose, legal escalation through independent counsel. Each marketplace decides on removal. Our counterfeit protection service page explains how. This guide is general information, not legal advice. Bytescare is not a law firm; for a specific dispute, consult independent counsel.

FAQs

Further reading

• How to report counterfeit listings of your brand on Amazon
• AliExpress Copyright Infringement
• Difference Between Knock-Off And Counterfeit

Sources

1. Regulation (EU) 2017/1001 on the European Union trade mark (codification): Articles 1, 9, 14 and 15, unchanged in the consolidated version of 1 December 2025 · EUR-Lex, Publications Office of the European Union · accessed 2026-10-16
2. Intellectual property for Rights Owners and Registered Agents (Germany) · Amazon Seller Central Help, Germany · accessed 2026-10-16
3. Using the Report Infringement form (Germany) · Amazon Seller Central Help, Germany · accessed 2026-10-16
4. EU trade mark protection and comparable UK trade marks · GOV.UK, Intellectual Property Office · accessed 2026-10-16
5. Intellectual property for Rights Owners and Registered Agents (United Kingdom) · Amazon Seller Central Help, United Kingdom · accessed 2026-10-16
6. Changes to EU and international designs and trade mark protection · GOV.UK, Intellectual Property Office · accessed 2026-10-16
7. Changes to unregistered designs · GOV.UK, Intellectual Property Office · accessed 2026-10-16
8. Regulation (EU) 2026/715 of 11 March 2026 on European Union designs (codification): Articles 5 to 7, 9, 11, 12, 14, 17, 20, 163 and 164 · EUR-Lex, Publications Office of the European Union · accessed 2026-10-16
9. FAQ: unregistered EU designs · European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) · accessed 2026-10-16
10. Design reform: terminology and procedural changes · European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) · accessed 2026-10-16
11. Intellectual property policy · eBay Customer Service · accessed 2026-10-16
12. IPP Platform FAQ: patent rights enforcement (design patents and utility models) · Alibaba International Digital Commerce Group, IP Protection Platform · accessed 2026-10-16
13. Verified Rights Owner program · eBay.com · accessed 2026-10-16
14. Temu Intellectual Property Policy (German site in English; last updated 11 August 2026, the same date as on the French site) · Temu · accessed 2026-10-16
15. Judgment of the Court (Third Chamber) of 1 December 2011, Case C‑145/10, paragraphs 87 to 99 · Court of Justice of the European Union, via EUR-Lex · accessed 2026-10-16
16. Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 on a Single Market For Digital Services (Digital Services Act): recitals 12 and 61; Articles 3, 6, 16, 17, 19 to 23, 29, 30 and 93 · EUR-Lex, Publications Office of the European Union · accessed 2026-10-16
17. Alibaba International Intellectual Property Protection Platform Instructions · Alibaba International Digital Commerce Group, IP Protection Platform · accessed 2026-10-16
18. Digital Services Act (DSA): Amazon EU Store (updated 31 August 2026) · Amazon, Trustworthy Shopping at Amazon · accessed 2026-10-16
19. Amazon Brand Registry · Amazon, Sell on Amazon (Germany; served in English) · accessed 2026-10-16
20. Report Infringement: sign-in page and "About Amazon's Report Infringement Form" · Amazon.de · accessed 2026-10-16
21. Report an Issue with a Product, Content, or Product Page · Amazon.de Customer Service · accessed 2026-10-16
22. Programm für verifizierte Rechteinhaber (VeRO) · eBay.de · accessed 2026-10-16
23. Verified Rights Owner programme · eBay.co.uk · accessed 2026-10-16
24. Report Infringement (IP Portal sign-in page and Brand Registry Portal) · Temu · accessed 2026-10-16
25. IPP Platform FAQ: IPR verification · Alibaba International Digital Commerce Group, IP Protection Platform · accessed 2026-10-16
26. IPP Platform FAQ: design rights enforcement · Alibaba International Digital Commerce Group, IP Protection Platform · accessed 2026-10-16
27. Informations Consommateurs (last updated 30 July 2026), section 6: Signalement de contenus illicites · ManoMano (Colibri SAS) · accessed 2026-10-16
28. Notifier un contenu illicite / faire appel d'une décision (notice and appeal form linked from the manomano.fr footer; also in English, Italian, German and Spanish) · ManoMano (form hosted on Zoho Survey) · accessed 2026-10-16
29. Conditions Générales d'Utilisation de la Plateforme (last updated 5 August 2026), articles 18 and 20 · ManoMano (Colibri SAS) · accessed 2026-10-16
30. Directive 2006/116/EC on the term of protection of copyright and certain related rights (codified version): Article 6 (unchanged in the consolidated version of 31 October 2011) and recital 16 · EUR-Lex, Publications Office of the European Union · accessed 2026-10-16
31. Urheberrechtsgesetz, § 72 Lichtbilder (German Copyright Act, section 72: photographs; an English translation is published at gesetze-im-internet.de/englisch_urhg) · Federal Ministry of Justice (Germany), Gesetze im Internet · accessed 2026-10-16
32. Judgment of the Court (Second Chamber) of 7 August 2018, Case C‑161/17, operative part · Court of Justice of the European Union, via EUR-Lex · accessed 2026-10-16
33. Picture policy · eBay Customer Service · accessed 2026-10-16
34. Images, videos and text policy · eBay Customer Service · accessed 2026-10-16
35. Directive 2001/29/EC on the harmonisation of certain aspects of copyright and related rights in the information society: Article 2, unchanged in the consolidated version of 6 June 2019 · EUR-Lex, Publications Office of the European Union · accessed 2026-10-16
36. Trusted flaggers under the Digital Services Act (DSA) · European Commission, Shaping Europe's digital future · accessed 2026-10-16
37. Regulation (EU) No 608/2013 concerning customs enforcement of intellectual property rights: Articles 1 to 6, 28 and 29 · EUR-Lex, Publications Office of the European Union · accessed 2026-10-16
38. Trade Marks Act 1994, sections 21 to 21D: threats of infringement proceedings · legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives · accessed 2026-10-16
39. Registered Designs Act 1949, sections 26, 26A and 26C: threats of infringement proceedings · legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives · accessed 2026-10-16
40. Court of Appeal of England and Wales, judgment of 19 December 2023, [2023] EWCA Civ 1502, paragraphs 1, 37, 41 and 52 · Find Case Law, The National Archives · accessed 2026-10-16
41. Oberlandesgericht Nürnberg, judgment of 8 July 2025, 3 U 136/25 UWG, operative part and paragraphs 18 to 24 · BAYERN.RECHT, Bavarian State Chancellery · accessed 2026-10-16