Is It Legal to Copy Products From Another Shopify Store?

The short answer

Only copy products, photos and descriptions you have the rights to use. Shopify's Acceptable Use Policy says you can't use Shopify to do anything that's illegal where you do business. When a rights holder sends a valid copyright notice, Shopify removes the content, and it can close stores for repeat infringement.

What "having the rights" looks like

In practice, you have the rights to a product's photos and text in three common cases:

• Your own products: you made them, photographed them and wrote the copy.
• Supplier products: a supplier authorises you to resell its products and to use its photos and text.
• Licensed content: the owner has licensed the content to you in writing.

If none of these apply, ask the owner before you copy anything. Another store's photos, descriptions and brand name are not yours to use just because they're public.

How Shopify handles copyright complaints

Shopify's copyright policy sets out what happens when someone reports your content:

1. 1
   A rights holder sends Shopify a copyright notice about content in your store.
2. 2
   After a valid notice, Shopify generally removes the content and notifies you in your Shopify admin.
3. 3
   If you believe the removal was a mistake, you can send a counter notice.
4. 4
   After a valid counter notice, you can generally put the content back up in 10 to 14 business days.

Without a valid counter notice, removed content stays offline unless the copyright holder approves.

Repeat infringement can close a store

In appropriate circumstances, Shopify terminates stores for repeat infringement, and all shops owned or operated by the same repeat infringer can be terminated too. Shopify also keeps the discretion to disable a store for even a single case of willful or egregious infringement.

Brand names and logos (trademarks)

Brand owners can report trademark and trade dress infringement to Shopify too. Under Shopify's trademark and trade dress policy, you're notified in your admin and can respond there. If you don't have the rights, the content may stay offline unless the rights holder approves. Don't put another brand's name or logo on products, titles or images unless you're authorised to sell that brand.

Copying between stores you own

This is the clear case: the products, photos and text are yours. Merchants copy products between their own stores to launch in a new country or niche. 1Click copies only from Shopify stores you manage, and it asks you to confirm your rights with a checkbox on every import.

Supplier products from AliExpress, Amazon or eBay

Before you import a supplier's listing, check that the seller allows resale and the use of its images and text. Then make the product page yours:

• Pick only the images you're allowed to use. In 1Click, only the images you select are uploaded.
• Rewrite the title and description in your own words, or with AI rewrite.
• 1Click's supplier text cleanup removes marketplace names, shipping claims, seller promotions and links from Amazon, AliExpress and eBay text.

Cleanup and rewriting make a page better for your shoppers. They don't make a copy legal: if you don't have the rights to the original, get them first. The variants and images editor includes the rights check on every import. See all supported sources.

What to do if you get a notice

• Read the notice in your Shopify admin. It tells you which content was reported.
• Respond through the Shopify admin. If you have the rights, you can send a counter notice. If you don't, leave the content down.
• Be accurate. Under Shopify's copyright policy, false or bad-faith notices and counter notices are punishable by law.
• Get advice for your situation. Talk to a lawyer before you respond to anything you're unsure about.