TikTok Shop updates on its IP protection record

TikTok Shop, which has been accused of being a conduit for counterfeit goods, has published a second report defending its record on the protection of intellectual property rights (IPR).

Between July and December 2024 – during a period in which it launched its e-commerce operation in new markets, including Ireland and Spain – the company said it deactivated more than 900 stores for IPR violations, blocked more than 7m suspected counterfeit products from being listed, and permanently revoked more than 16,000 shop creator selling permissions.

It also processed more than 400,000 takedown requests received through its Intellectual Property Protection Centre (IPPC), which allows rights holders to submit IPR and search products, e-commerce videos and live feeds to identify possible infringements.

"Our robust end-to-end framework enforces and preserves the highest level of trust and IPR security," said the company, which is an offshoot of the massively popular video-sharing app.

"By creating an ecosystem in which our brand owners, sellers, and partners meet the regulatory standards and the expectations of the brands we work with, we can ensure that TikTok Shop continues to be a safe, welcoming, joyful, and engaging platform for all.

In its inaugural report on IPR, covering July 2023 to June 2024, TikTok Shop said it had deactivated more than 4,800 seller accounts and prevented 5m listings from going live.

There have been concerns that TikTok Shop – which officially launched in the US in 2023 after an initial rollout in Asia and is also available in the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Ireland and Spain in Europe – could become an avenue for knock-off products.

To tackle that perspective, TikTok Shop has forged partnerships with brand protection specialists like Entrupy and Real Authentication to try to prevent the sale of counterfeits on its platform.

"We've put nearly $1bn into tools, people, and technologies to deploy protective measures at every step of the shopper, seller, and creator journeys," said the company in its report. It also said it had increased the number of IPR specialists globally to 1800, up from 1400, "to help ensure our new locations are covered with care."

Photo by Swello on Unsplash