Your product is copied on Prom.ua and Rozetka: a step-by-step action plan for the brand owner

Discovering your unique product or even a blatant counterfeit under your brand name from an unknown seller on Rozetka or Prom.ua is an unpleasant but, unfortunately, very common situation for Ukrainian e-commerce. This directly damages your reputation, destroys pricing, and takes away your sales. Fortunately, large marketplaces understand their responsibility and have tools to protect the rights of brand owners. Let’s look at a step-by-step algorithm of actions that will help you restore order.

Section 1. Preparing for battle: your legal arsenal

Before rushing into battle and writing angry letters to the marketplace support service, you need to prepare thoroughly. Your effectiveness in combating violators directly depends on how strong your legal position is and how well you have gathered evidence. Imagine that you are going to court—without documents and evidence, your words will carry no weight. The situation here is similar.

1.1. A registered trademark is the main proof of your rights. Without a trademark certificate, the fight will be much more difficult.

This is your main, indispensable, and most powerful “weapon” in this war. Ukraine’s trademark registration certificate is the only document that indisputably confirms your exclusive right to use your brand name and/or logo.

Why is this so important for the marketplace?The Rozetka or Prom.ua support service receives dozens of complaints every day. They need simple and clear evidence to make a decision.

• When you have a Certificate: Your complaint carries maximum weight. You are writing not as “one of the sellers,” but as an officially recognized Rights Holder. You provide a scanned copy of the certificate, which states your name or company name, an image of your trademark, and a list of goods/services. For the marketplace employee, everything becomes clear: here is the rights holder, and here is the seller who is illegally using their trademark. The response to such a complaint is usually quick and effective.
• If you do NOT have a certificate: Your position is extremely weak. You can complain that someone is using “your name,” but for the marketplace, it’s just your word against another seller’s. A name that is not registered as a trademark is not legally your exclusive property. Most likely, you will receive a response along the lines of: “Provide documents confirming your exclusive rights to this name.” And you will have nothing to provide. The only thing you can appeal in this case is the violation of copyright on your photos (if they were copied), but this will not prevent the seller from simply replacing the photos and continuing to sell the product under your name.

A TM certificate is your “golden ticket” that opens doors to brand protection programs and makes your claims legitimate and valid in the eyes of any marketplace administration.

1.2. Gather evidence: take screenshots of the violators’ pages, save links to their stores and product cards.

The support service will not “investigate” your case on its own. You must provide them with a complete, comprehensive “file” on each violator. The better and more complete the evidence you gather, the faster your complaint will be reviewed.

What exactly needs to be collected (create a separate folder for each violator):

• Direct links (URL): Save links to the offender’s store homepage on the marketplace and to each individual product page where the violation occurs.
• Detailed screenshots: Take screenshots of these pages. The screenshot should clearly show:
  • I will name the store that violated the rules.
  • Product name (where your trademark is being used illegally).
  • Use of your original photographs or descriptions.
  • Price (this is important for establishing the fact of dumping).
  • If possible, reviews where customers complain about quality (if we are talking about counterfeits).
• Test purchase (for cases involving counterfeit goods): This is the most compelling evidence. Order the goods from the violator. Keep all proof of purchase (receipt, waybill). When you receive the goods, make a detailed photo and video comparison with your original product, noting all differences that prove the fact of counterfeiting.
• Date stamp: Try to make sure that the date is visible on your screenshots. This may be useful in the future.

Having such a detailed file demonstrates the seriousness of your intentions and greatly simplifies the work of the support service, which speeds up the decision-making process in your favor.

1.3. Documents: prepare a scanned copy of the trademark certificate and documents confirming your authority.

Before submitting your first complaint, create a “rights holder folder” on your computer with all the necessary documents in PDF or JPG format. This will allow you to respond instantly, rather than searching for paperwork every time you find a new infringer.

Required set of documents:

1. Scanned copy of the trademark certificate: This is the main document. The scan must be of high quality, in color, with a clearly visible certificate number, image of the mark, owner details, and registration date.
2. Documents confirming your authority (if you are a representative): If the complaint is not filed by the trademark owner personally (for example, not by the individual entrepreneur to whom the trademark is registered), but by a lawyer, company director, or marketing manager, it is necessary to confirm that this person has the right to act on behalf of the owner. This can be:
   • Power of attorney from the owner to represent their interests.
   • Order appointing the director (if the owner is an LLC and the complaint is signed by the director).
3. Extract from the Unified State Register: A document confirming the registration of your company or sole proprietorship. This is necessary so that the marketplace administration can verify that the owner specified in the certificate is a real business entity.

Having this ready-made package of documents will allow you to act quickly and professionally, without wasting time on bureaucratic red tape at the most crucial moment.

Section 2. Step-by-step action plan for the marketplace

With a solid legal arsenal at your disposal, you can move on to active measures. Dealing with violators on large marketplaces is not a chaotic correspondence with customer support, but a structured process that usually involves registering with a special program for rights holders and filing formal complaints. Although the interfaces may differ, the general logic is similar on most platforms.

2.1. Step 1: Find a brand protection program

Large, civilized marketplaces understand that selling counterfeit goods and violating intellectual property rights damages their own reputation. That is why they create special tools for rights holders so that they can monitor the market themselves and report violations. Your first task is to find this tool.

Links to such programs are usually found in the footer (bottom part) of the website. Look for sections titled “Rights Holders,” “Brand Protection Program,” “Brand Protection,” “Report a Violation,” etc.

• Examples:
  • On Rozetka, this program is clearly structured and requires prior registration.
  • On Prom.ua, there is a special form for reporting content, available through the Customer Service Center.
  • On international platforms such as Amazon, there is a powerful system called Brand Registry, which gives rights holders expanded capabilities to control their products.

If you cannot find such a section, contact general customer support with a direct question: “I am the owner of a registered trademark. There are sellers on your website who are infringing on my rights. Please provide instructions and contact details for filing an official complaint from the copyright holder.” This is your first step toward officially protecting your brand on marketplaces.

2.2. Step 2: Apply to register as a rights holder

Most serious protection programs require prior “accreditation.” You can’t just walk in off the street and start filing complaints. You must first prove to the platform that you are who you say you are. This process may be called program registration, brand verification, or creating a rights holder account.

Usually, at this stage, you will be required to:

1. Fill out the form: Provide complete information about your company or sole proprietorship (name, EDRPOU/INN code, contact details).
2. Provide information about your brand: Specify the brand name and upload a scanned copy of the trademark registration certificate. Some platforms may also ask you to provide patent numbers if you are protecting a design or invention.
3. Confirm authority: Upload documents confirming your right to act on behalf of the brand owner (power of attorney, order of appointment of director).

After submitting your application, the marketplace administration will review the documents you have provided. This process may take anywhere from a few days to several weeks. After successful verification, you will receive the status of “brand representative on the marketplace” and access to a special account or tools for filing complaints. This step is a one-time process and greatly simplifies all further actions.

2.3. Step 3: Prepare and submit your complaint

With access to the rights holder’s account, you can begin to take direct action against infringers. The complaint process is usually standardized.

• Find the complaint form: It may be called “Create a request,” “Report a violation,” or “Report a violation.” You will need to provide:
  • Links to violators’ pages: Insert the URLs of the product or store pages you collected during the preparation stage. Most systems allow you to add multiple links in a single complaint.
  • Nature of the violation: Select from the drop-down list or describe the type of violation in your own words. The most common options are:

1. “Trademark infringement” (unauthorized use of a name/logo).
2. “Sale of counterfeit products/fakes”.
3. “Copyright infringement” (if your photos or descriptions have been copied).

Attach the evidence you have collected to the complaint – a scanned copy of the certificate, screenshots.

At this stage, it is very important to be as accurate and concise as possible. Do not write emotional “poems” about how bad your competitors are. Communicate using facts and documents. For example, a complaint about the seller Rosetka should be dry and businesslike. Your task is to make the moderator’s job as easy as possible.

2.4. Step 4: Monitor the process

After submitting a complaint, the work is not over. You need to stay on top of things and monitor the process until it is logically completed.

• Keep track of the status: Your rights holder account usually displays the status of each complaint (“Under review,” “Resolved,” “Rejected”). Check it regularly.
• Be prepared for feedback: The marketplace moderator may send you follow-up questions or ask you to provide additional evidence. It is important to respond to such requests promptly so as not to delay the process.
• Analyze the results: Once the complaint has been upheld and the offender’s product card has been blocked (or the counterfeit has been removed from Prom), don’t stop there. Regularly (for example, once a week) conduct follow-up monitoring. Very often, the same sellers try to create new product cards or even new stores. Your fight must be systematic.

Persistence and a systematic approach are key factors for success in cleansing the market of unscrupulous players.

Section 3. What else can be done?

Working with brand protection programs on marketplaces is the primary and most effective tool. However, sometimes it is not enough. Moderators may respond slowly, or the violator may be too brazen and stubborn. In such cases, it is worth using additional levers of influence that will help you achieve results and protect your commercial interests.

3.1. Combating dumping: blocking unauthorized sellers is a direct route to controlling pricing policy in the market

Dumping is the sale of goods at deliberately low prices. This is one of the main problems created by “gray” sellers on marketplaces. As an official brand representative, you have a recommended retail price (RRP) that takes into account your marketing, certification, warranty service, and personnel costs. An unauthorized seller does not incur these costs, so they can afford to sell goods 10-20% cheaper, “killing” the market.

You cannot directly influence another seller’s price—this could be considered price fixing. But you can influence their right to sell your product in principle.

By using the trademark infringement complaint mechanism, you can systematically remove all sellers from the marketplace who you have not given official permission to sell your brand.

• Create a “white list”: Define a list of your official dealers and partners who are authorized to sell your products.
• Block everyone else: Systematically file complaints against all other sellers as “unauthorized.” Your TM certificate gives you every right to do so.

When only your official partners who adhere to a uniform pricing policy remain on the marketplace, the problem of dumping will disappear on its own. Thus, combating dumping is a secondary but very important result of your systematic work to protect your brand. It allows you to control the market and ensure fair margins for yourself and your partners.

3.2. Pre-trial claim: if the marketplace does not respond, you can send an official letter of claim directly to the offending seller.

Sometimes there are situations when, for some reason, the marketplace administration does not respond to your complaints or its response is formal and ineffective. In this case, it is worth contacting the violator directly.

A pre-litigation claim is an official legal document prepared by your lawyer or patent attorney and sent to the legal address of the infringing seller (if you have been able to establish it). Why do this?

• A letter received from a law firm looks much more serious than a message from the marketplace support service. Many minor violators, upon seeing an official document threatening legal action and demanding compensation, prefer to immediately cease the violation in order to avoid further problems.
• In many cases, sending a pre-trial claim is a mandatory step before filing a lawsuit in a commercial court. This is your proof that you have attempted to resolve the dispute amicably.
• In your claim, you can demand not only that the violation be stopped, but also that you be compensated for the damage already caused.

Even if you don’t plan to actually go to court, a well-written complaint is a very powerful tool that often solves the problem. It shows that you are prepared to go all the way and forces the offender to take your demands much more seriously. This is an important part of how comprehensive online store protection works, which is not limited to just a “Report” button.

Conclusions

Protecting your brand on marketplaces is not a one-time event, but rather a systematic and ongoing effort. The key to success in this battle lies in two main factors: having a registered trademark, which is your main proof, and your own persistence in communicating with platform administrators.

By actively protecting your rights, you are not just blocking a few unscrupulous sellers. You are preserving the value of your brand, controlling your pricing policy, protecting your customers from counterfeits, and building a reputation as a strong company that will not allow anyone to “parasitize” on its name. This is an important component of how the legal framework for e-commerce works, which you can read more about in our main article  “Legal protection for online stores: from protecting product photos to fighting copies on Rozetka“.

Remember that often not only the product is copied, but also the photo. Therefore, in addition to fighting for your brand, don’t forget about protecting your content. Read more about this in the article “How to protect your product photos from being stolen by other stores?”.