What is the eBay VeRO program?

eBay attaches great importance to protecting intellectual property rights and maintaining a safe online trading platform environment for buyers and sellers. To this end, eBay does not allow sellers to sell certain types of items on the eBay platform (such as pirated recordings). At the same time, eBay has also taken a series of restrictive measures on how sellers sell certain types of items on the eBay platform (such as celebrity autographs).

To provide further support in this area, eBay has developed the VeRO (Verified Rights Owner) program, which will provide intellectual property owners with a channel to report listings that they believe infringe their rights.

eBay's Rules Regarding Intellectual Property - Overview

eBay is committed to providing a safer platform for buying and selling items while protecting intellectual property. Using intellectual property (such as copyrighted items and trademarks) in an illegal manner will be considered infringement, which is a violation of the law and eBay policy.

What are eBay's policies regarding intellectual property?

Rules for what items sellers can list on eBay

Restricted listings

Items not allowed to be posted on EBay

Rules for sellers to list items for sale on eBay

Restrictions

Not allowed

eBay VeRO Program: Report Listing Violations

eBay has specially developed the "VeRO" (Verified Rights Owner) program so that intellectual property owners can easily report to eBay any listings that infringe their intellectual property rights.

Here are some basic guidelines on what eBay sellers should do:

If you are an intellectual property owner: Only intellectual property owners can report eBay listings that infringe their copyrights, trademarks, or other intellectual property rights. If you are an intellectual property owner, you can visit the How to Report Intellectual Property Infringement Listings (VeRO Program) page to learn more about the VeRO program and submit a report.

If you are not the IP owner: Even if you are not the IP owner, you can contact the IP owner and suggest that they contact eBay and offer assistance.

Some IP owners who have participated in the eBay VeRO program have created a participant page where you can find more information about their products and legal status. Not all eBay VeRO program participants have created a participant page, but you can find some who have created one on the VeRO Program Participant Page.

If your listing was removed: If you believe your listing was removed in error, click here to learn more about how eBay protects intellectual property (VeRO program)

Frequently asked questions

1. Can I add a disclaimer in my listings regarding "I do not know if some of my items are authentic"?

No, even with a disclaimer, eBay does not allow sellers to list knockoffs, counterfeit items, and unauthorized copies on the eBay platform. Sellers are responsible for the authenticity of the items they list, and eBay recommends that sellers contact the manufacturer to confirm the authenticity of their items.

2. Someone is using verbatim descriptions from my listings. What can I do to stop them?

As an intellectual property owner, you can report infringements. Please fill out a notification of alleged infringement and send it to eBay, which will investigate and remove listings that violate eBay policies.

3. What is copyright and how do I know if I have violated someone else's rights?

Copyright is a form of intellectual property law that protects original works of authorship, such as books, music, videos, photographs, paintings, and software. Copyright covers both published and unpublished works, and is protected as long as the work is in a tangible form, such as on paper or on video. Copyright prohibits anyone from using someone else's work without permission.

Copyright law generally gives the owner of a specific authorized copy of a copyrighted work the right to resell that specific copy. For example, if you buy a DVD of a movie, you can resell that specific DVD. However, you may not copy, sell, or give away unauthorized copies of that DVD unless you are the copyright owner or have the copyright owner's permission.

4. What is a trademark and what circumstances may be considered trademark infringement?

A trademark is a name or logo that a company uses to identify its goods or services. For example, eBay® is the name of our company and a trademark used on our site and various eBay products and services. The main purpose of trademark law is to prevent people from confusing one company's goods or services with those of another.

Trademark infringement generally involves using another person's trademark in connection with goods or services in a manner that is likely to confuse consumers as to the source or affiliation of the goods or services.