Business

TikTok Shop Intellectual Property Policy

September 14, 2024

Overview

This TikTok Shop Intellectual Property Policy (the “Policy”) outlines how third-party intellectual property rights (“IPR”) are protected within TikTok Shop. This Policy supplements TikTok’s Community Guidelines and,TikTok Shop’s Creator Terms of Use, and Seller Terms of Service (collectively, “TikTok Terms”).

Any TikTok Shop seller or creator who uploads content, promotes or sells products or services, or takes any other action that infringes the IPR of others, or encourages or induces infringement, shall be subject to any and all enforcement actions set forth in the TikTok Terms, theSeller Enforcement Policy, and the Creator Performance Evaluation Policy.

Enforcement actions include, but are not limited to: 

Removing or restricting your product listings or TikTok Shop permissions.

Suspending or terminating any TikTok user accounts.

Temporarily or permanently terminate access to your TikTok Shop account.

Temporarily or permanently withholding any balance, or cancelling of any transaction, associated with a seller’s violation.

Any additional actions deemed necessary by TikTok, in its sole discretion, including but not limited to initiating civil or criminal proceedings independently or in conjunction with Intellectual Property Rights (or IPR) owners.

This policy is not intended as legal advice. For any questions regarding US laws and regulations, we encourage all users to seek independent legal advice.

This policy is updated periodically. Sellers and creators must check this document regularly to ensure compliance with our current policy.

TikTok Shop reserves the right to make changes to any policy at any time without prior notice. Please review our TikTok Shop Policy Center updates section on TikTok Shop Academy for the most up-to-date policy.

Prohibited Practices

TikTok Shop expressly prohibits the unauthorized use of any third-party intellectual property rights. This includes, but is not limited to:

Counterfeits

Counterfeit goods attempt to imitate authentic products without authorization and may infringe on third-party trademarks, design patents, and trade dress. The promotion or sale of counterfeit products is strictly prohibited on TikTok Shop. This includes the unauthorized display of brand names, logos, or trademarks in product images, product descriptions, livestreams, or videos without the brand owner’s authorization.

TikTok Shop affiliate marketing takes action against counterfeiting and considers the following as engaging in counterfeit behavior:

Advertising or selling counterfeit products.

Displaying unauthorized brand names, trademarks, or logos in any form of content, including, but not limited to, product detail pages, videos, and livestreams.

Intentionally blurring or hiding any brand name or logo.

Behaviors or written or verbal messages (including text, image, sound, and video) that imply the sale of counterfeit products.

Trademark Infringement

TikTok Shop users are prohibited from using third-party trademarks on their physical products, in their listings, in their content, or shop name without proper authorization. A trademark is a word, symbol, design, sound, or a combination of these (such as a brand name or logo) that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from others. Generally, trademark laws exist to prevent customer confusion about the source of goods or services. Trademark Infringement also includes the usage of third-party trademarks in content and product descriptions. Refer to our Intellectual Property Infringement article for examples of how to reduce the risk of accidentally infringing on the IP rights of others.

Example: “TikTok” is a registered trademarks that we use for many of our products and services. Other TikTok trademarks contain both pictures and words, such as the “TikTok” logo.

Copyright Infringement

TikTok Shop users are prohibited from using third-party copyrighted material without proper authorization. Copyright affiliate is a legal right that protects original works of authorship (e.g., photos, text, music, videos, etc.), giving copyright holders control over how their creations are used, reproduced, distributed, or performed. Copyright ownership is automatic and does not require registration, notice, or publication for a copyright to exist.

Knockoffs 

Commonly known as “copycat” products, these products closely resemble the logos or trademarks of authentic brands with registered trademarks but are not identical to them. Knockoffs are typically lower in quality or priced lower than the original products they imitate and may violate a third-party design patent.

Knockoff products may unfairly or dishonestly imitate or infringe the legitimate rights of owners of branded, authentic products, and in some cases, violate local laws. The promotion or sale of knockoff products is strictly prohibited on TikTok Shop.

Patent Infringement 

TikTok Shop users are prohibited from using any third-party patents without authorization. A design patent protects the unique design of a functional item and safeguards the visual appearance of a product. Design patents protect against unauthorized copying or imitation of the visual design of an object, giving the holder exclusive rights to that particular design. A utility patent covers the creation of a new or improved and useful product, process, or machine. If there is no valid court order, please contact the party you consider infringes your utility patent directly.

Rights of Publicity or Personality Rights Infringement

TikTok Shop users are prohibited from using the name, image, or likeness of a third-party without authorization. Rights of publicity (sometimes called “personality rights”) give individuals the right to control their name, image, likeness, or other identifying aspects of identity. Examples include, but are not limited to, using a music artist’s or athlete’s name or image on a shirt, or suggesting a product is sponsored or promoted by a famous athlete, without authorization from that person to do so.

Brand Authorization

Brand Authorization is a way for sellers to submit legitimate documentation from brand owners through Seller Center. These documents act as evidence that these sellers are authorized to sell a brand’s products or utilize another party’s intellectual property.

For certain products, brands, and categories, we require sellers to obtain approval before listing products. The approval process may include document requests and other qualifications.

Sellers may be required to submit Brand Authorization to TikTok Shop before listing specific products. TikTok Shop reserves the right to request Brand Authorization documentation from sellers at any time. Additionally, TikTok Shop may reject any seller’s Brand Authorization documents if the document appears insufficient based on our criteria or falsified.

To obtain Brand Authorization, sellers need to submit specific documentation in Seller Center. The chart below specifies what documentation is needed to obtain Brand Authorization on TikTok Shop, depending on the seller type.

Reporting Infringement

Only IPR owners or their authorized representatives may file an IPR infringement notice. Before submitting an IPR infringement notice, keep in mind that intentionally submitting a misleading or fraudulent notice may lead to liability for damages or other penalties under local laws. If you are not sure if you are the proper IP owner or if IP laws protect the material, you should obtain legal counsel.