My IP report was rejected or nothing happened: what to do next

What you'll need

• The rejection message, word for word. It usually names the reason.
• Your original report: what you claimed, which rights, and which links.
• Rights valid where the listing is sold: a registration in that country for trademark, or your original work for copyright.
• Fresh evidence for each listing, with dates and URLs.

The rules on this page come from each platform's own pages, checked 16 October 2026.

Why reports get rejected

What each platform says it will not act on

• Amazon: true compatibility statements, rights from another country, minimum advertised price and distribution agreements, parallel imports outside the countries where local law applies, and another seller offering genuine goods on a detail page you created. Amazon guide.
• eBay: reports that try to stop where or how genuine products are resold, or sales below a price point. eBay VeRO guide.
• Etsy: reports missing your full contact details, linking the seller's listing as your 'authorised example', naming shops instead of listings, the wrong IP type, and trademarks that are not registered and active or are used only decoratively. Etsy guide.
• Shopify: a general shop link rather than the URL of each infringing page. Shopify guide.
• SHEIN: says that failing to provide sufficient information may result in the notice being rejected, and may ask for proof of ownership, authorisation documents or evidence.

How to refile

No answer at all, rather than a rejection? Skip to [When nothing happens](#nothing-happens).

1. 1

   Read the reason

   Match the rejection message to the table above. If it asks for more information, answer that request rather than filing a new report.

2. 2

   Change what failed

   Switch the claim type, use a registration valid in that country, or add the listing URLs and evidence that were missing.

3. 3

   Lead with your strongest right

   For copied photos and descriptions, copyright usually holds up best because it needs no registration. For fakes sold under your name, use a trademark registration valid where the listing is sold.

4. 4

   Describe it plainly

   Say what was copied, where, and how the reviewer can check it, in a few sentences. The DMCA notice template sets out what a copyright notice must contain.

5. 5

   Submit once, and log it

   Do not resubmit the same report repeatedly. Amazon warns that 'multiple submissions of inaccurate or inauthentic notices could lead to the removal of your submission privileges', and Temu says the same of continuous inaccurate or fake notices.

Every rejected notice on Amazon also lowers the acceptance rate that Project Zero eligibility depends on (at least 90% to qualify), so accuracy matters from the first report.

When nothing happens

Marketplaces and hosts rarely publish response times, so silence for a few days is not a rejection. If a report goes unanswered, these routes act independently of the first one:

• The domain registrar, for a website. ICANN requires registrars to take 'reasonable and prompt steps to investigate and respond appropriately to any reports of abuse'. A registrar that does not respond can be reported to ICANN through its registrar complaint form.
• The host behind Cloudflare. Cloudflare forwards complaints to the site operator and the host and does not remove sites itself, so send the host its own notice.
• Google Search, for copied photos and text, through Google's legal removal troubleshooter.
• The payment provider. PayPal takes infringement reports at infringementreport@paypal.com, and Stripe has an IP notice process; both can stop processing the site's payments. Visa forwards complaints to the merchant's bank, but only once you show you have already taken enforcement steps, such as a cease-and-desist letter.
• A cease-and-desist letter to the seller, when you can reach them. The cease-and-desist generator drafts one.

When the seller files a counter-notice

A counter-notice is the seller saying your copyright report was a mistake. On eBay and Etsy the content comes back after 10 business days, and on Shopify it may be reposted after 10 to 14 business days, unless you tell the platform you have started a court action. A counter-notice means the seller gives a name and accepts a court's jurisdiction, so check the details they gave. If you are sure of your rights and the seller is real, that is the point to speak to an IP lawyer.