Counterfeiting

What is counterfeiting?

Counterfeiting is illegal manufacturing, importing and exporting, distributing, selling or otherwise dealing in goods made to look like high-quality brand-name goods, but with lower quality materials or ingredients. Counterfeiting is common in the areas of medicine, cosmetics, electronics, clothing, footwear, and luxury products. Counterfeiting poses harmful risks and negatively impacts legitimate economic activity. Counterfeiting is illegal in most countries, most of which have strong laws that criminalize such activity. 

TikTok does not permit the sale, trade, or solicitation of counterfeit goods on the platform. Any content that sells or promotes counterfeit goods will be removed and may result in additional enforcement action on your account status. Learn more in our Community Guidelines.

How can you identify counterfeits?

Counterfeit products include:

• Fake goods, unauthorized copies, or unauthorized replica items

• Products that include brand names, logos, and trademarks without authorization from the brand owner

It is good practice to research the seller and the products they are selling ahead of purchase to better evaluate the quality of the product. Below are some red flags to help you identify goods that may be counterfeit. This list is not exhaustive and should be used as a guide only.

1. Price: Sold at much lower prices than the recommended retail prices.
2. Packaging: Often sold without packaging or with low-quality packaging, or packaging with spelling mistakes. A useful tip is to check the product description, FAQs, contact details, and other such information for spelling errors or grammatical mistakes.
3. Place: Sold on online marketplaces and not on the official brands' websites or by authorized resellers.
4. Quality: Often made with inferior materials or ingredients that may not have undergone relevant product safety and/or standard assessments and may bring about harmful health concerns.
5. Lack of Warranty or Return Policy: Authentic sellers typically offer warranties or return policies. If these are missing, it's a red flag.

In addition to the red flags mentioned above, you can review resources from the International Trademark Association to help protect yourself and others from potential harm.

Why is counterfeiting harmful?

1. Threat to safety: Counterfeit goods may use substandard components that are harmful or dangerous. For example, counterfeit electronics that do not meet safety standards or counterfeit cosmetics that contain allergens or harmful chemicals.
2. Supporting organized crime: Profits from the sale of counterfeit goods have been known to support organized crime, drug and human trafficking, and the exploitation of child labor.
3. Exposure of personal data: When purchasing counterfeit goods, you may be providing personal details such as your physical address and bank information to unscrupulous parties. This may expose you to fraud, scams, or identity theft.
4. Impacting the environment: Counterfeit manufacturers often bypass environmental regulations, leading to pollution and waste. Their production can involve harmful chemicals and unsustainable practices, causing significant ecological damage undermining efforts to protect our planet.
5. Loss of business revenue: Brand owners devote significant resources to developing, designing, and marketing their products. Counterfeiters take advantage of such efforts by offering illegitimate goods at lower prices and/or lower quality.
6. Undermining user trust: The prevalence of counterfeit goods can erode consumer confidence in brands and markets, leading to a general mistrust of genuine products and services.

If you want to learn more about how to identify or raise awareness about counterfeit products, you can explore the resources below:

Learn more

Disclaimer

The content provided on this page is not legal advice. Content is for informational purposes and educational use only.