Counterfeit products

This policy applies to Shopping ads and local inventory ads

Our policy

Google prohibits the sale or promotion for sale of counterfeit products. Counterfeit goods contain a trademark or logo that is identical to or substantially indistinguishable from the trademark or logo of another. They mimic the brand features of the product in an attempt to pass themselves off as a genuine product of the brand owner. This policy applies to the content of your Shopping ads and your website.

If you're concerned about Shopping ads or retailers facilitating the sale of counterfeit goods on Google, file a complaint.

Examples of what's not allowed

Counterfeit products

Products described as knock off, replica, imitation, clone, faux, fake, mirror image, or similar terms when referring to a brand name in an attempt to pass themselves off as genuine products of the brand owner

 

Non-genuine products that mimic brand features in an attempt to pass themselves off as the genuine product

• Examples: non-authentic products that have brand name labels or logos

We take violations of this policy very seriously and consider them egregious. An egregious violation of our Shopping ads policies is a violation so serious that it is unlawful or poses significant harm to our users. In determining whether a merchant or destination is violating this policy, we may review information from multiple sources including your product, website, accounts, and third-party sources. If we find violations of this policy, we will suspend your Merchant Center account upon detection and without prior warning, and you will not be allowed to participate in Shopping ads and free listings again.

If you believe there's been an error and that you haven’t violated our policy, you can submit an appeal and explain why. We only reinstate accounts if the suspension was erroneous.

What you can do

Here's what you can do if your product is disapproved or if your Merchant Center account is impacted:

Product disapproval

Products that don't comply with our policies may be disapproved and won't be eligible to serve.

1. Read our Shopping policies to learn what we don't allow.
2. Update your website. If your ad or listing directs to violating content, update your website to meet all policy requirements.
   • Remove the violating products. You must remove non-compliant offers from your product data feed. You’ll receive an email with details about the violations.
   • Update your product data in Merchant Center. Manually update your product data or wait for your automated upload schedule to run before requesting any reviews.
3. Request a review or appeal. After fixing the issue or if you believe the disapproval is incorrect, you can request a review or appeal the decision.
   • Individual product review (if you fixed the issue)
     • If you edit your product data via your chosen upload method (such as a file) or directly in Merchant Center, the affected products will be automatically re-reviewed.
     • If you remove the violating products from your feed, no further action or review request is necessary.
   • Standard appeal (if you disagree with the issue)
     • For certain issues, you can dispute the violation. You may need to complete additional steps, such as providing an appeal reason and/or uploading required documentation.
     • If a review or appeal is successful, the issue will be removed from Merchant Center.
   • Bulk appeal (available in certain cases)
     • For specific policy issues where you believe a large number of offers require review, you may be able to submit a single bulk appeal.
     • ⚠️ Warning: Before submitting a bulk appeal, you must review your offers and remove any policy-violating items from your feed. Submitting a bulk appeal for a large set of offers risks immediate failure if violations are found. This may limit your ability to submit subsequent appeals for those products.
     • You must remove any offers that are violating our policies from your feed before attempting to appeal in bulk.
     • How to appeal in bulk: The bulk appeal option may not be available in all instances or when using third-party platforms.
       • Option 1 - Under all products
         • Go to Merchant Center > Products > Needs attention.
           • Navigate to the specific issue.
           • Select “View fix”
           • Select the option to disagree with the issue for all products.
           • Review any informational prompts that appear.
           • Select “Request review” to submit the appeal.
       • Option 2 - Product details page
         • From the product details page, selecting “Review and fix” will display the appeal options: “I disagree with the issue” and/or “I disagree with the issue for all products”.
     • Third-party platforms
       • If you use a third-party platform to list your products, consult that platform for available review options.
       • If a review or appeal is successful, the issue will disappear from Merchant Center.

Account disapproval

For most violations, we'll send you a warning email detailing the policy violation and give you 7 or 28 calendar days to fix your issue.However, we may not issue a warning for egregious policy violations.

1. Read our Shopping policies to learn what we don't allow.
2. Update your website. If your ad or listing directs to violating content, update your website to meet all policy requirements.
   • Remove the violating products. You must remove non-compliant offers from your product data feed. You’ll receive an email with details about the violations.
   • Update your product data in Merchant Center. Manually update your product data or wait for your automated upload schedule to run before requesting any reviews.
3. Request a review or appeal. After fixing the issue or if you believe the disapproval is incorrect, you can request a review or appeal the decision.
   • Individual product review (if you fixed the issue)
     • If you edit your product data via your chosen upload method (such as a file) or directly in Merchant Center, the affected products will be automatically re-reviewed.
     • If you remove the violating products from your feed, no further action or review request is necessary.
   • Standard appeal (if you disagree with the issue)
     • For certain issues, you can dispute the violation. You may need to complete additional steps, such as providing an appeal reason and/or uploading required documentation.
     • If a review or appeal is successful, the issue will be removed from Merchant Center.
   • Bulk appeal (available in certain cases)
     • For specific policy issues where you believe a large number of offers require review, you may be able to submit a single bulk appeal.
     • ⚠️ Warning: Before submitting a bulk appeal, you must review your offers and remove any policy-violating items from your feed. Submitting a bulk appeal for a large set of offers risks immediate failure if violations are found. This may limit your ability to submit subsequent appeals for those products.
     • You must remove any offers that are violating our policies from your feed before attempting to appeal in bulk.
     • How to appeal in bulk: The bulk appeal option may not be available in all instances or when using third-party platforms.
       • Option 1 - Under all products
         • Go to Merchant Center > Products > Needs attention.
           • Navigate to the specific issue.
           • Select “View fix”
           • Select the option to disagree with the issue for all products.
           • Review any informational prompts that appear.
           • Select “Request review” to submit the appeal.
       • Option 2 - Product details page
         • From the product details page, selecting “Review and fix” will display the appeal options: “I disagree with the issue” and/or “I disagree with the issue for all products”.
     • Third-party platforms
       • If you use a third-party platform to list your products, consult that platform for available review options.
       • If a review or appeal is successful, the issue will disappear from Merchant Center.

Note: Account reviews typically take 7 business days, but may take longer for complex reviews. If you remove violating products, the warning will be removed. If a review or appeal is successful, the issue will disappear from Merchant Center. In the case of account suspension, we will approve the account and allow products to be displayed again.

Account issue that limits product visibility

Your account has an issue and is operating with reserved functionality, therefore your products have limited visibility. Check your email for a notice with details about the issue and steps to resolve it. Common issues include policy violations or missing account information.

1. Read our Shopping policies to learn what we don't allow.
2. Update your website. If your ad or listing directs to violating content, update your website to meet all policy requirements.
   • Remove the violating products. You must remove non-compliant offers from your product data feed. You’ll receive an email with details about the violations.
   • Update your product data in Merchant Center. Manually update your product data or wait for your automated upload schedule to run before requesting any reviews.
3. Request a review or appeal. After fixing the issue or if you believe the disapproval is incorrect, you can request a review or appeal the decision.
   • Individual product review (if you fixed the issue)
     • If you edit your product data via your chosen upload method (such as a file) or directly in Merchant Center, the affected products will be automatically re-reviewed.
     • If you remove the violating products from your feed, no further action or review request is necessary.
   • Standard appeal (if you disagree with the issue)
     • For certain issues, you can dispute the violation. You may need to complete additional steps, such as providing an appeal reason and/or uploading required documentation.
     • If a review or appeal is successful, the issue will be removed from Merchant Center.
   • Bulk appeal (available in certain cases)
     • For specific policy issues where you believe a large number of offers require review, you may be able to submit a single bulk appeal.
     • ⚠️ Warning: Before submitting a bulk appeal, you must review your offers and remove any policy-violating items from your feed. Submitting a bulk appeal for a large set of offers risks immediate failure if violations are found. This may limit your ability to submit subsequent appeals for those products.
     • You must remove any offers that are violating our policies from your feed before attempting to appeal in bulk.
     • How to appeal in bulk: The bulk appeal option may not be available in all instances or when using third-party platforms.
       • Option 1 - Under all products
         • Go to Merchant Center > Products > Needs attention.
           • Navigate to the specific issue.
           • Select “View fix”
           • Select the option to disagree with the issue for all products.
           • Review any informational prompts that appear.
           • Select “Request review” to submit the appeal.
       • Option 2 - Product details page
         • From the product details page, selecting “Review and fix” will display the appeal options: “I disagree with the issue” and/or “I disagree with the issue for all products”.
     • Third-party platforms
       • If you use a third-party platform to list your products, consult that platform for available review options.
       • If a review or appeal is successful, the issue will disappear from Merchant Center.

Note: Account reviews typically take 7 business days, but may take longer for complex reviews. If you remove violating products, the warning will be removed. If a review or appeal is successful, the issue will disappear from Merchant Center. In the case of account suspension, we will approve the account and allow products to be displayed again.

To ensure a safe and positive experience for customers, Google requires that retailers comply with all applicable laws and regulations in addition to our policies. It's important that you familiarize yourself with and keep up to date on these requirements for the place where your business operates, as well as any other places your ads are shown. When we find content that violates these requirements, we may block it from appearing. In cases of repeated or egregious violations, we may ban you from advertising content with us.

If you’re working with a third-party platform, some of these instructions may not apply to you. Refer to your third-party platform for instructions on how to resolve the issue and request a review. Learn how to find support if you use a non-Google platform.