Notice-and-Takedown
The mechanism by which a rights holder reports infringing content and the platform removes or restricts it after review.
Aliases: Notice and takedown, 通知删除, 侵权投诉机制, 下架通知
Two legal lineages
Notice-and-takedown has two sources. In the United States, Section 512 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act creates a safe harbour for platforms that act on notices of copyright infringement. In the EU, Article 16 of the Digital Services Act requires hosting services to provide notice and action mechanisms for illegal content, which includes but is not limited to intellectual property.
The practical result is similar: a rights holder submits a complaint, the platform reviews it, and the offer is removed or restricted.
What a notice contains
- Identification of the rights holder and, where relevant, proof of ownership
- Identification of the infringing listing, ideally the URL or ASIN
- The right relied on: copyright, trademark, patent or design
- A statement of good faith belief and, in the DMCA model, a statement under penalty of perjury
- Contact details and a signature
Incomplete notices are rejected rather than investigated, which is why rights holders often file through brand portals that enforce the structure.
The seller's side
A removed listing usually comes with a notification in the seller account. Many platforms offer a counter-notice or appeal route: the seller asserts that the use is lawful, for example because it holds a licence, sells genuine goods under first-sale doctrine, or the mark is descriptive.
The DMCA counter-notice model passes the notice to the rights holder, who must then bring a court action within a set window to keep the content down. Platform appeal processes are usually faster and less formal, and their outcomes feed account health metrics.
Abuse and counter-abuse
Notice systems are also used competitively. A rights holder can submit a takedown for a competing listing, and the burden of restoring the listing falls on the seller. Platforms penalise rights holders who submit knowingly false notices, and the DSA adds transparency requirements through statements of reasons.
Relationship to other mechanisms
Notice-and-takedown is a procedural route. Substantive liability comes from intellectual property law, and the defensive registration route for brands is brand registry. Removal is not a finding of infringement and restoration is not a finding of non-infringement.
Practical preparation
Keep evidence of authorisation for every branded product: invoices from the brand or an authorised distributor, licence agreements, and photographs of the product and packaging. When a takedown arrives, the evidence pack decides how fast the listing returns.
Primary source: 17 U.S.C. 512; Regulation (EU) 2022/2065, Article 16.