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Intellectual property & Trade Me
Those in the Twitterverse may have seen some recent discussion about intellectual property rights, mainly relating to some confusion about whether Android products can be sold on the site (they can!) We thought it would be useful to shed some light on what we do when items that are alleged to infringe on a brand’s IP rights are brought to our attention.
Having a robust programme around all of this is important because we want Trade Me to remain a trusted place for Kiwis to buy and sell everything under the sun.
Our first priority is to protect the marketplace we operate, and that means we need to do our bit to help consumers not be misled or confused about what they are buying, and make sure sellers understand what is and isn’t OK to sell.
There are also some legal requirements under Section 92C of the Copyright Act which mean that if we “know or have reason to believe” that a listing on the site breaches copyright, we need to remove it.
How do I get on board the Trade Me IPR programme?
We take infringements of intellectual property rights seriously, so if you are a brand owner or intellectual property rights holder and believe products on Trade Me infringe your rights please contact us. We have an established process in place for intellectual property owners.
How many brands are part of it?
Our IPR programme is a dynamic beast and is not a new initiative – it has been in place for years. At the moment there are more than 700 brands we work with. We hear from them from time-to-time, and all of them have provided us with information about their rights. It’s important to note that the programme is not just in place for big companies – we work with rights-holders across the spectrum and they come in all shapes and sizes from knife-makers and artists, to paint companies and singers.
What sort of proof do you require?
We usually require registered proof of intellectual property rights (e.g. IPONZ registration, registered patents, etc), so some sort of vague email or phone call will not cut the mustard. Having proof means we guard against spurious claims between competitors.
How does Trade Me find out about alleged breaches?
Mainly via infringement notices provided by rights-holders. If you see something and think we should take a closer look, hit the Community Watch button at the bottom of a listing.
What does Trade Me do?
It is a bit of a balancing act to make sure our actions are fair to buyers, and fair to sellers.
When an alleged breach is brought to our attention by a rights-holder, we review it in conjunction with the information they have provided us. If we agree there’s a breach, the listings will be removed and we will contact the seller to let them know why.
We also take proactive action in some cases where we believe products are likely to deceive or confuse the average buyer.
If a seller is blatantly disregarding our advice and continues to list items that are in breach, they will be banned.
If we’re not presented with sufficient information, or if we believe the brand is overstepping the mark we push back and ask for more information (or decline the request). We may require a court order before we pass on information about a seller, or provide their details to a rights-holder. This is because we want to ensure Trade Me is also a fair venue for sellers.
For more info, check out our Intellectual Property Rights Guide