Intellectual Property Help Center

Intellectual Property Help Center

Mercari is committed to helping people and organizations protect their intellectual property rights. The Mercari Terms of Service do not allow posting content that violates someone else’s intellectual property rights, including copyright and trademark. Mercari reserves the right to disable any listing or account that we believe violates our Terms of Service, including this Intellectual Property Policy or our Prohibited Items Policy. Mercari also reserves the right to take action against abusers of Mercari’s Intellectual Property Policy or our Terms of Use.

Copyright

Copyright is a legal right that protects original works of authorship, such as film, music, books and fine art. Generally, copyright protects original expression such as words or images. Copyright doesn’t protect things like names, titles and slogans; however, another legal right called a trademark might protect those.

Trademark

A trademark is a word, slogan, symbol, or design (for example: a brand name or logo) that a person or company uses to distinguish their products or services from those offered by others. Generally, trademark law seeks to prevent confusion among consumers about who provides or is affiliated with a product or service.

Reports of Intellectual Property Infringement

Mercari strives to respond quickly when we receive a valid report of intellectual property infringement by removing or disabling access to the allegedly infringing material. When Mercari removes or disables access in response to a report, Mercari makes a reasonable attempt to contact the affected user, provide information about the report and removal, and, in cases of alleged copyright infringement, provide information about how to submit a counter notice. Mercari may also provide a copy of the notice of claimed infringement, including the name and email address of the reporting party, to the affected user.

To submit a report of alleged intellectual property infringement, use the Mercari Authorized Reporting System (MARS) here.

If you are unable to use the MARS Form, you can read more about our DMCA notice requirements and Designated Agent here.

Mercari may request additional information before processing a report, such as a letter of authorization from the rights owner, identity verification of the reporting party, or other documentation regarding the claimed right. Mercari may reject reports of infringement or counter notices that contain information we believe is false, fraudulent, incomplete, or otherwise submitted in bad faith. Mercari also reserves the right to take action against abusers of this policy.

Note: To report allegedly infringing content on the Mercari Japan marketplace (https://jp.mercari.com/") the rights owner itself, or their authorized attorney must submit a removal request in Japanese at the following link: https://about.mercari.com/contact/ipr-inquiry/

Valid reasons to report a listing

• Items or listings that infringe on your intellectual property
• Counterfeit or replica items
• Unauthorized use of copyrighted content in a listing

Invalid reasons to report a listing

• Wanting to control where a product is resold by trying to enforce contracts or distribution of goods to authorized sellers (selective distribution)
• Not allowing the sale if items are below a controlled price point (minimum advertised pricing or MAP).
• Any terms a brand puts into their contracts that seek to control the way items are resold (contractual issues).
• Government-controlled items that are illegal to sell (regulatory compliance issues).

Why was my listing removed?

If your listing was removed based on a MARS report, Mercari sent you an email with details about why your listing was reported and how to contact the rights owner directly for more information. If you have concerns or questions about why your listing was removed, please contact the rights owner directly. Mercari’s Prohibited Items policy can be seen here.

Contact us in the following circumstances:

• You can’t find the rights owner’s email address in your removal notification email.
• You sent an email to the rights owner, but they haven’t replied after 5 business days.

Sellers are responsible for ensuring that any item they list on Mercari is authentic and that the listing description doesn’t infringe on the rights of others.

Examples of infringements

• Items that bear the rights owner’s trademark—such as a logo—but were not authorized by the rights owner.
• Unauthorized copies of audio, video, or other media.
• Unauthorized use of a rights owner’s images or text in a listing.

Counter Notice

In accordance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), Mercari accepts counter notices for copyright infringement reports only. When Mercari receives a DMCA counter notice, we will provide a copy of the counter notice to the original reporting party. The removed material may be replaced or access to it may be restored 10 business days after the counter notice is processed, unless the copyright owner files an action seeking a court order restraining the allegedly infringing party from relisting the items and informs Mercari of this action. Read more about DMCA notices, counter notices, and requirements here.

Repeat Infringement

Mercari terminates selling privileges of users who are subject to multiple notices of intellectual property infringement in appropriate circumstances and at Mercari’s discretion. If we believe a user has attempted to open a new account after termination of the initial account, we reserve the right to refuse all services to that user. These actions apply to any accounts we believe are associated with or operated by the affected member. Per our Terms of Use, Mercari reserves the right to terminate account privileges at any time, for any reason, and without advance notice.

Withdrawals

Mercari only accepts withdrawals of infringement reports directly from the intellectual property owner or authorized representative who submitted the claim. The withdrawal must clearly state that it is a formal withdrawal and sufficiently identify the user and/or item (such as by providing the Mercari listing URLs).

Once Mercari receives a formal withdrawal of an infringement report, Mercari will contact the withdrawing party to confirm receipt and will notify the affected member of the withdrawal. Please note that infringement matters are reviewed on a case-by-case basis, and withdrawals do not guarantee changes to a user’s account status.