Report a store that copied your work
Use Shopify's online Copyright infringement notice form, which Shopify recommends. If you
can't, email [email protected] or write to its Trust & Safety team in Ottawa (address on
Shopify's copyright help page).
Check it's copyright first: your photos, descriptions or artwork. Your brand name or logo, or counterfeits, are trademark issues, and mixing the two confuses the review. If the merchant's product copies your product design, take advice before calling it copyright. See copyright vs trademark.
What your notice must include
A notice missing any of these is likely to be rejected. Shopify may pass a copy, including your contact details, to the merchant, so use a business address and inbox.
What happens next
- If Shopify finds the notice complete and valid, it generally removes the content and tells the merchant. In some cases it may decline.
- The merchant accepts the removal or files a counter notice.
- If a valid counter notice arrives, you get a copy. Unless you start legal action and tell Shopify within 10 to 14 business days, the merchant may generally put the content back.
After a counter notice your only option is court, so be accurate from the start. The takedown notice template gives you the structure.
If your store gets a notice
A genuine notice means a rights holder told Shopify something in your store infringes, usually a product image or description. Your admin shows what was reported and when it will be removed. It's an allegation, not a ruling, but it has consequences:
- The content comes down and stays down unless you file a valid counter notice or the rights holder approves its return.
- Uncountered notices add up. Shopify may close a store after several, and other stores run by the same person. One wilful or egregious infringement can be enough to disable a store.
- A valid counter notice clears the record: Shopify removes the complaint from your account record.
Accept or counter-notify
Accept the removal
- When the claim is right: a supplier's photo, a competitor's copy or an unlicensed image from online.
- Replace it with your own photos and writing, or licensed material.
- Fix the cause too: uncontested notices count towards repeat-infringer action.
File a counter notice
- Only for a mistake or misidentification: you own the work, hold a licence, or the claimant doesn't own it.
- Use the form in your Shopify admin, or email or post to Trust & Safety if you can't.
- It's a sworn legal statement, and the complainant gets a copy.
A valid counter notice includes:
- Your legal name and enough contact information to reach you.
- The removed content and where it appeared.
- Consent to the US federal district court for your address, or the District of Delaware if you're outside the US.
- Agreement to accept service of process from the person who filed the notice, or their agent.
- A statement under penalty of perjury that the content was removed by mistake or misidentification.
- Your physical or electronic signature.
If the complainant doesn't file legal action and tell Shopify within 10 to 14 business days, Shopify lets you know and the content may be reposted. The jurisdiction and service clauses are real commitments: read the counter-notice guide and the timeline. If a competitor seems to be targeting your best sellers, start the evidence trail in false DMCA takedowns.
Is the Shopify DMCA email genuine?
Fake notices copy Shopify's branding, threaten closure within hours, and push a link to "review the complaint" or "verify the account". A real notice is in your admin, so you never need the email.
Other red flags: a payment demand to "settle", "evidence" on a file-sharing site, a deadline in hours. More in the fake notice guide.
Google is a separate track
A Shopify takedown doesn't touch Google. A rights holder can separately ask Google to delist product, collection or blog URLs on your store's domain; they stay live on Shopify, and nothing appears in your admin. Content Shopify removed can also linger in Google until it recrawls.
Google publishes most of these requests in its Transparency Report, and a DMCA check lists those naming your domain. Rights holders wanting a copy out of Google too should file there: see Google copyright removal and the ecommerce page.
FAQs
How do I file a DMCA takedown on Shopify?
Use Shopify's copyright infringement notice form, with a direct link to each infringing page (not just the shop), your original work, the required statements and your signature. If you can't use the form, email [email protected].
What does a Shopify DMCA notice email mean?
A rights holder has told Shopify that content in your store infringes their copyright. Shopify generally removes it and shows the details in your admin. If the notice isn't in your admin, treat the email as possible phishing.
Can a DMCA notice get my Shopify store shut down?
One ordinary notice removes the reported content. Several notices you don't counter can lead Shopify to close the store, and other stores run by the same person. A single wilful or egregious infringement can also be enough.
How long does a Shopify counter notice take?
Shopify sends a valid counter notice to the complainant. Unless they file legal action and tell Shopify within 10 to 14 business days, you may generally repost the content.
Does Shopify tell the store owner who reported them?
A copy of the notice, including your contact information, may be given to the person who posted the content. Use business contact details when you file.
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