TikTok Shop Updates Intellectual Property Policy Guidance
TikTok Shop emphasizes authorized use of trademarks, copyrights, design patents, and original images; sellers of branded products must obtain valid brand authorization.
What are the key facts?
- 1TikTok Shop’s cross-border seller page updated its intellectual property policy guidance on October 16, 2026
- 2Sellers and creators may not use third-party trademarks, copyrights, design patents, or original images without authorization
- 3Modifying another seller’s image with AI may still be considered unauthorized copying or adaptation
- 4Sellers of branded products must obtain valid brand authorization through the Qualification Center
- 5Infringement risks may result in removal, traffic restrictions, penalty points, account penalties, or additional evidence requests
What happened?
TikTok Shop’s cross-border seller page updated its intellectual property policy guidance on October 16, 2026, further emphasizing trademark infringement and compliance responsibilities for cross-border products. Under the update, sellers and creators may not use third-party trademarks, copyrights, design patents, or other sellers’ original images without authorization in products, product detail pages, videos, livestreams, shop names, or avatars. Even if a seller uses artificial intelligence to modify another seller’s image, it may still be considered unauthorized copying or adaptation and may constitute infringement. Sellers of branded products must obtain valid brand authorization through the Qualification Center and ensure that authorization materials are authentic, complete, and valid. The change mainly affects dropshipping-style sellers, sellers of excess branded inventory, sellers using AI-generated product images, and operations teams managing multiple cross-border sites in Southeast Asia, Europe, and the United States. Infringement may result in product removal, traffic restrictions, penalty points, account penalties, or requests for additional evidence during an appeal.
What does this mean for cross-border sellers?
TikTok Shop’s intellectual property requirements cover products, detail pages, videos, livestreams, shop names, and avatars. Unauthorized use of trademarks, copyrights, design patents, or others’ original images may lead to removal, traffic restrictions, penalty points, account penalties, or additional evidence requests during appeals. Sellers of branded products must obtain authentic, complete, and valid authorization through the Qualification Center; modifying others’ images with AI does not eliminate infringement risk.
What should sellers do now?
- 1This week, review product images, detail pages, videos, livestream materials, and shop information for Southeast Asian, European, and U.S. cross-border shops one by one; remove unauthorized third-party trademarks and others’ original images, and create a list of processed listings.Listing Optimizer
- 2For shops selling branded products and listings of excess branded inventory, organize and verify the authenticity, completeness, and validity of Qualification Center authorization materials, and complete an authorization archive organized by shop and product.Listing character checker
- 3Review listings using AI-generated or AI-modified images, trace whether the images came from other sellers or contain third-party intellectual property, mark the risks, and replace materials whose authorization source cannot be proven.
- 4Also review TikTok Shop creator collaboration content and livestream materials. Require authorization checks for trademarks, copyrights, design patents, and original images before publication, and produce a creator-content compliance review record.Creator Outreach