How to report an infringement on Shopee

Last updated on: July 11, 2022

Shopee is one of the leading ecommerce platforms headquartered in Singapore with a presence in over 10+ countries around the world. For brands trying to acquire more customers in the Southeast Asian market, Shopee has become the place to be. 

Just as with any other top ecommerce platform, this rapid growth has resulted in an increase in bad actors targeting the marketplace. That’s why it’s essential for brands to keep an eye on these bad actors while investing in expanding their presence on marketplaces. 

In this article, we discuss:

• The problem with infringements on Shopee
• Types of infringements on Shopee
• How does infringing work on Shopee
• Steps to report infringements on Shopee

The problem with infringements on Shopee

While Shopee prohibits selling counterfeits and infringed product listings, the platform does not actively look for infringements or fake sellers. Like on most marketplaces, the onus really falls on the customers, sellers, and brands to actively look for infringement and report it to the platform, if they want listings to be taken down. 

As a result, it’s necessary for brands to constantly look for any kind of intellectual property infringements and report it to Shopee directly before it can cause a severe loss of revenue and brand reputation. 

Types of infringements on Shopee

Trademark infringement: This involves any kind of unauthorized use of your registered trademarks, trade name, or even trade dress. 

For instance, if someone else uses your trademark logo or color on their own products on Shopee, you can file a report against them on grounds of trademark infringement.

Copyright infringement: This involves the unauthorized use of your copyrighted content like images, product names, and others. 

For instance, when scammers try to sell fake or counterfeit products by using original images or product descriptions of your brand, it is considered copyright infringement.

Patent infringement: It is the unauthorized manufacturing or reselling of patented products.

For instance, if you see one of your patented products counterfeited on Shopee, you can report it as patent infringement and get the listing taken down. 

How does infringing work on Shopee

Bad actors are getting smarter by the day and using newer techniques on Shopee to fool unsuspecting customers. 

Here are some of the many ways scammers initiate infringements on Shopee:

Counterfeits 

Scammers sell counterfeits of original products at heavy discounts and make the product listing seem genuine by adding the original product images and descriptions. In most cases, scammers claim to be third party sellers or redistributors

But of course, when customers receive the product, they realize the quality does not match their expectations. While many may be able to guess they have been scammed, others may end up blaming your business for manufacturing bad quality products – all of which can have a detrimental effect on your brand’s reputation.

Fake listings with no products at all

There are also scammers on Shopee who post product listings even when they don’t own the products at all – fake or real. The goal of these scammers is to make quick profits and disappear as soon as the customers start questioning. Some may even provide customers with a fake tracking number only to claim that the product has been lost. 

There have also been cases where scammers urge customers to make a payment outside of the Shopee platform for ‘extra discounts’ and then they block the customers as soon as they receive the payment. Since the payment wasn’t made on Shopee, customers have nowhere to report the scam, except for blaming the brand for it.

Fake reviews

Scammers can create all the fake product listings they want, but the only way customers will place an order with them is when they trust the seller. That’s why scammers make use of fake reviews in order to create genuine looking product listings and trick customers.

Steps to report infringements on Shopee

To report Intellectual Property infringement on Shopee, you need to track down the infringed product listings manually and then report them by filling up the IPR form available on the website.

Here are the documents you will need to prove infringement:

For Counterfeits and trademark infringement:

• Trademark registration document
• Image proof of the infringement may be asked by Shopee later

Copyright 

• Copyright registration document 
• Image proof for infringement may be asked by Shopee later

Patent infringement

• Patent registration document

Industrial design

• Design registration document

For all types of infringement reports, you will also have to upload a letter of authorization if you are not the intellectual property owner.

With your documents ready, it’s now time to fill out the form 

1- You will be required to provide your name, your relationship with the IP owner, and your contact information as well. Click Next when done

2- Compile the list of all the infringed product listing URLs and upload it as a Doc or Excel file

3- Provide your IP registration number and declare if the IP is registered in the same country where the product is listed on sale

4- Provide your brand name and mention the Shopee region where the infringed product has been listed for sale  

5- Select the nature of the complaint and then in the ‘Grounds of complaint’ section, you can mention how these product listings infringe on your intellectual property

What’s next

Tracking and reporting infringements on Shopee is necessary to protect your revenue and to protect your brand image, especially if you are serious about expanding your business in the Southeast Asian market. 

Red Points helps protect your business on all the major marketplaces, including Shopee, with its AI-powered software that can automatically detect, validate, and remove infringements 

See how you can protect your brand on marketplaces with Red Points.