Intellectual property Rights

  What’s intellectual property?   Intellectual property (IP) can be an idea or creation that a person or business has made. This can include inventions, artistic works, designs, symbols, names, and images.   Learn more

If you’re an IP rights holder – we can help.

We want to make sure our site is free from counterfeit goods and items that infringe others’ IP rights – to keep Trade Me a trusted place for Kiwis to buy and sell. Our first priority is to protect buyers, by helping sellers understand what is and isn't OK to sell.

Here’s a quick IP guide for sellers on Trade Me

• Don't sell counterfeit items on Trade Me
  Even if you say it’s a fake, replica, or counterfeit – no exceptions.
  
  
• Rights Holders bring listings to our attention
  We’ll consider whether design or functional elements look like they’re copied from another product.
  
  
• Use your own photos and description
  Listing photos and descriptions shouldn’t be copied from another website, or another member’s listing.
  
  
• Make sure your product sources are reputable
  If you’re a reseller, ask for a certificate of authenticity or other documentation from your supplier – to ensure you’re on-selling genuine items.
  
  

What does Trade Me do?

• We work directly with hundreds of brands and rights holders as part of our IPR programme.
• Our Trust and Safety reviews complaints – either directly from rights holders, or Community Watch.
• Complaints are reviewed, along with any evidence.
• If there’s a breach, the listing will be edited or removed.
• We’ll give the seller a heads up.
• If they continue to breach IP after being warned – we’ll remove them from the site.

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Our Intellectual Property policy. Let us know if you’ve come across counterfeit goods – along with how you know they're not the real deal.