To report a fake seller on Facebook or Instagram, the trademark owner or an authorized representative uses Meta's Counterfeit Report Form or Trademark Report Form, giving the registered trademark, its registration number and links to the infringing posts, ads or accounts. Brands with an active registered trademark can instead apply for Meta's Brand Rights Protection tool.
Meta gives trademark owners two ways to report fake sellers on Facebook and Instagram. Any rights owner or authorized representative can use the public Counterfeit Report Form or Trademark Report Form. Brands with an active registered trademark can also apply for Brand Rights Protection, a tool in Meta Business Suite for searching and reporting at scale.
Both routes end with the same review by Meta's IP operations team. This guide explains what Meta treats as counterfeit, what the forms ask for, who qualifies for Brand Rights Protection, the steps to file and the limits of reporting by hand.
What Meta considers an infringement
Meta's Counterfeit Report Form defines a counterfeit as an unauthorized imitation or reproduction of a product that bears the original rights owner's trademark. The Trademark Report Form covers other infringements of a trademark, such as a brand name, slogan, symbol or logo used without permission. Copyright issues, such as your product photos reused in a post, go through Meta's separate copyright tools.
| Situation | Where to report | Example |
|---|---|---|
| A product sold as yours but fake | Counterfeit Report Form | A Marketplace listing for a copy of your bag with your logo |
| Your brand name used to mislead | Trademark Report Form | An Instagram account named after your brand selling other goods |
| Your photos or videos reused | Meta's copyright report form | Your campaign photos on a reseller's Page |
| Many of the above, repeatedly | Brand Rights Protection | Dozens of accounts and ads across Facebook and Instagram |
Rights holders can report individual posts, photos, videos or ads, and also an entire profile, account, Page, group or event if it infringes as a whole. Our guide on counterfeits, knockoffs and dupes helps you decide whether a lookalike is a counterfeit at all.
What Meta asks for
The Counterfeit Report Form asks for the following. Prepare it before you open the form.
- Your relationship to the rights owner. You are the rights owner, you report for your organization or client, or you report for someone else.
- Your contact details. Full name and email address. Meta warns that it shares the rights owner's name, your email address and the nature of the report with the person who posted the content, so a business email is the better choice.
- The rights owner. Its name and a link to its official online presence, such as a website or Facebook Page.
- One registered trademark per report. The mark, where it is registered (a country, the EUIPO or WIPO) and the registration number.
- Proof of the registration. A link to the record in an online trademark database. If you only have a certificate, the form lets you say so, and Meta replies with instructions.
- The content. The content type (photo, video or post; ad; Page, group or profile; other) and up to 30 links or IDs, one per box.
- Your explanation. How the content infringes your rights, plus any court order you hold.
- An electronic signature. Your legal name, confirming the report is accurate and made in good faith.
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New searchENThe official reporting routes
| Counterfeit and Trademark Report Forms | Brand Rights Protection | |
|---|---|---|
| Who can use it | Rights owners and authorized representatives | Approved businesses with an active registered trademark |
| Where | facebook.com/help/contact/counterfeitform and /trademarkform | Meta Business Suite, Brand Rights Protection |
| What you report | The links you paste, up to 30 per report | Content and accounts you find with the tool's search |
| Coverage | Facebook and Instagram | Ads, Shops, Facebook Marketplace, buy and sell groups, Pages, profiles, Groups, Instagram accounts and posts |
| Extra features | None | Search, reference images for automatic detection, report tracking and metrics |
To apply for Brand Rights Protection, Meta lists these requirements: a personal Facebook account to log in to Meta Business Suite (or a Meta Managed Account), a business portfolio in Meta Business Suite, an active registered trademark, no history of intellectual property violations, and an applicant who is an employee of the brand. You apply from Brand Rights Protection in Meta Business Suite, fill in the form, sign electronically and send it. Meta reviews the application and emails the next steps if you are approved. Once set up, users need the IP reviewer role to see the tool.
How to report a counterfeit seller, step by step
- Choose the right route. Use Brand Rights Protection if your business has access. Otherwise, open the Counterfeit Report Form.
- Collect the links and your trademark details. Save the URL of each post, ad, Marketplace listing, Page or account, with a dated capture. Note the registration number, the office and a link to the official record.
- State your relationship to the rights owner. If you report for a client, make sure you hold their authorization.
- Complete one report per trademark. Choose the content type, paste up to 30 links and describe, in a few factual sentences, what shows that the product is not genuine.
- Sign and submit. Enter your electronic signature and keep Meta's email reply.
- Follow up. Answer any request for more information, and watch for the same product posted from a new account.
Expected review time
Meta says each report is handled by its IP operations team, a global team that works around the clock in multiple languages. When a report is complete and valid, Meta says the team typically removes the reported content within a day or less and confirms the action to the person who reported it. If something is missing, the team may ask for more information by email.
Meta also notifies the person whose content was removed, gives them the reporting party's details and explains how to contest the removal where that is possible, for example through an appeal of a removal based on US trademark rights.
Common reasons reports are rejected
- No registered trademark. The counterfeit form asks for a registration number and office. An unregistered brand name is hard to report through it.
- Several marks in one report. Each report must concern one registered trademark.
- Links that do not point to the content. Search results or a profile's home page when the problem is one post.
- The wrong form. A copied photo reported as a counterfeit, or a lookalike without your trademark.
- No explanation. A list of links with no description of what is infringing or why the product is not genuine.
Limits of the manual process
Fake sellers on Facebook and Instagram often rotate accounts: a removed Marketplace listing comes back from a new profile, or a blocked Instagram shop reappears under a slightly different name. Meta says it disables the accounts of repeat infringers in appropriate circumstances, but you still need to spot the new account and report it.
The forms also only cover Meta. The same copy is often sold on TikTok Shop, Temu or Amazon in the same week, and each platform has its own rules; our guide to reporting counterfeits on TikTok Shop covers the next most common case. A spreadsheet of links and reference numbers across platforms is hard to keep current.
How Valigard can help before you report
Valigard searches marketplaces worldwide, including Facebook and Instagram listings, with your official product photos, so it finds listings that reuse them even when your brand name is missing. For each listing you mark as likely counterfeit, it keeps the URL, a saved and timestamped copy of the page, the price, the seller and whether the listing was removed or relisted. See the Facebook and Instagram pages for what Valigard checks, and our counterfeit evidence checklist for what to collect.
Valigard does not monitor impersonation accounts that do not show your product photos, and it does not send reports: you file with Meta, then log the status and case number. It does not determine with legal certainty that a product is counterfeit, and it cannot guarantee removal.
Frequently asked questions
How do I report a counterfeit seller on Facebook Marketplace?
If you own the trademark, use Meta's Counterfeit Report Form at facebook.com/help/contact/counterfeitform, or Brand Rights Protection if your business has access. Buyers who are not rights owners should use the report option on the listing itself instead.
Does the seller see who reported them on Facebook or Instagram?
Yes, in part. Meta's form says it shares the rights owner's name, your email address and the nature of the report with the person who posted the content. Meta suggests using a business or professional email address for that reason.
Who can use Meta Brand Rights Protection?
Meta says the business needs a portfolio in Meta Business Suite and an active registered trademark, must not have a history of IP violations, and the applicant must be an employee of the brand. Access is by application, and Meta reviews each one.
How long does Meta take to remove counterfeit content?
Meta says that when a report is complete and valid, its IP operations team typically removes the reported content within a day or less and confirms the action. If information is missing, the team may ask for more by email, which adds time.
Can I report counterfeits on Instagram with the same form?
Yes. Meta says its copyright, trademark and counterfeit report forms cover content on both Facebook and Instagram, from single posts, photos and ads to entire Instagram accounts, Facebook profiles, Pages and groups.
Sources
- Facebook Help Center: Counterfeit Report Form
- Facebook Help Center: Trademark Report Form
- Meta Business Help Center: About Brand Rights Protection
- Meta Business Help Center: Apply for Brand Rights Protection
- Meta Transparency Center: How we protect intellectual property (IP) rights
Last reviewed 27 Sep 2026. Marketplace procedures change; check the official pages before you file. This guide is general information, not legal advice.