Copyright & Trademark Tips for Trouble-free Listings
The general information below is offered to help the Mercari community better understand intellectual property issues that may come up when listing items for sale; it is not intended to be and should not be considered legal advice. If you have specific questions about your situation, you should consult an attorney.
Mercari is committed to helping people and organizations respect and protect intellectual property rights. The Mercari Terms of Service prohibit content that violates someone else’s intellectual property rights, including copyright and trademark. “Infringement” means violating someone else’s copyright or trademark and it’s against the law. Mercari reserves the right to disable any listing or account that we believe violates our Terms, including our Prohibited Items and Prohibited Conduct policies. Repeat violators of Mercari policies are also subject to disciplinary actions, including account limitation and suspension.
What is a Copyright?
Copyright is a legal right that gives people who create things like images, movies, books, or songs, the right to say how their things can be used. Generally, it means they can control who can copy share or use their creations. This rule helps make sure that creators are recognized and rewarded for their work.
To be protected by copyright, the work must have some originality. It can’t be a copy of someone else’s work.
Tips to create copyright friendly listings:
- Use photos that you have taken yourself
- Create listing descriptions that you have written yourself
- Listings with images or descriptions copied from brand owners’ websites, or someone else’s listing can be reported to Mercari and removed
- Do not copy someone else’s work for use on an item without their authorization
Keep in mind that your use of someone else’s content may be reported and your listing removed, even if you:
- Gave credit to the copyright owner
- Included a disclaimer that you don’t intend to infringe copyright
- Bought or downloaded the content (ex: a copy of a movie or a song)
- Found the content on the internet
- Recorded the content onto your own device (ex: from a movie, concert or sporting event)
- Saw that others have posted or listed the same content as well
- Are using an unauthorized streaming device or service (ex: a jailbroken or modded app or service)
What is a Trademark?
A trademark can be a word design or symbol that a company or person uses to show that something they make or sell comes from them. It’s like a special mark that helps consumers recognize their products or services. Trademarks are important because they help us know what we’re getting when we buy something and make sure we’re getting it from the right place. So, when we see a trademark, we know that it’s a special symbol that belongs to a particular company or person. Generally, trademark owners can prevent others from offering products that are likely to confuse consumers about where a product comes from.
Tips to create trademark friendly listings:
- When creating a listing, only use the actual brand name or product name for the item you are listing
- Do not use a brand name to describe a similar item produced by a different brand. For example, do not describe an item as “Chanel inspired” for an item not made by Chanel, as it will be removed
- Avoid using common brand names to describe items not made by those brands. For example, do not use the “popsocket” trademark to describe a phone holder not made by Popsocket
- When listing an item for sale, and the item’s brand name is not in the drop down list of the listing form – select No brand/Not sure. This will help prevent the listing from being removed for a trademark violation
What is a Counterfeit?
A counterfeit is a illegal knockoff or replica version of another company’s product. It usually copies the trademark (name or logo) and/or distinctive features of another company’s product to imitate a genuine product. Counterfeit items are strictly prohibited on Mercari. The manufacture, promotion or sale of a counterfeit goods is illegal and harmful to consumers, trademark owners and honest sellers. Counterfeit items have a reputation for being lower quality (sometimes not working at all) and may even be unsafe or hazardous. Please note that counterfeit goods are prohibited even if the seller explicitly says that the goods are counterfeit, or otherwise disclaims authenticity of the goods.