Sometimes we receive legal requests to remove content or take action on a store. This page explains what types of requests we receive, how we handle them, and what to expect if your store is affected.
Our approach
We don't want to remove your content or disrupt your business. When we receive a legal complaint, we review it carefully before taking action. We're not in the business of playing copyright cop or trademark police—but we do have legal obligations we must follow.
When action is required, we try to be as transparent as possible with affected merchants. We'll tell you what's happening and give you the opportunity to respond when the law allows.
Types of legal requests
DMCA takedown notices
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act provides a process for copyright holders to request removal of infringing content. If someone believes your store contains their copyrighted material—images, text, videos, or other content—they can submit a DMCA takedown notice.
Valid DMCA notices must identify the copyrighted work, identify the allegedly infringing content, include a statement of good faith belief, include a statement under penalty of perjury, and be signed by the copyright owner or their agent.
When we receive a valid DMCA notice, we're required to remove or disable access to the identified content promptly. We'll notify you when this happens and provide you with the complaint details.
Trademark complaints
Trademark owners may contact us if they believe your store infringes their marks—using their brand name, logo, or other protected identifiers in ways that could cause confusion.
Unlike DMCA, there's no statutory safe harbor process for trademark. We evaluate each complaint individually, considering factors like whether there's actual likely confusion, whether you might have legitimate rights to use the mark, and the strength of the complainant's claim.
Court orders
We comply with valid court orders from courts with jurisdiction over us or our merchants. This might include orders to preserve data, remove content, or provide information in connection with legal proceedings.
Government requests
Law enforcement and government agencies sometimes request information or action related to merchant accounts. We require valid legal process for these requests—typically a subpoena, court order, or search warrant depending on what's being requested.
If your content is removed
If we remove content from your store due to a legal complaint, you'll receive an email explaining what was removed and why. The email will include details of the complaint so you can understand the issue.
DMCA counter-notification
If you believe your content was removed due to a mistaken or fraudulent DMCA notice, you have the right to file a counter-notification. A counter-notification must include:
- Identification of the removed content and where it appeared
- A statement under penalty of perjury that you have a good faith belief the content was removed by mistake or misidentification
- Your name, address, and phone number
- A statement consenting to jurisdiction of federal court in your district
- Your physical or electronic signature
When we receive a valid counter-notification, we forward it to the original complainant. If they don't file a court action within 10-14 business days, we can restore the content.
Be aware that filing a counter-notification makes your contact information available to the complainant. Only file if you genuinely believe the takedown was improper.
Disputing other complaints
For trademark and other non-DMCA complaints, there's no formal counter-notification process, but you can respond to us with your side of the story. If you have rights to use the mark in question, evidence of that helps. If you believe the complaint is fraudulent or baseless, let us know.
We'll consider your response when deciding what action to take. In genuinely ambiguous cases, we may leave the decision to the parties to resolve through legal channels.
Repeat infringement
We're required to have a policy for terminating repeat infringers to maintain DMCA safe harbor protection. If your store receives multiple valid complaints, your account may be suspended or terminated.
We look at the totality of circumstances—a store with thousands of products that gets one or two legitimate complaints is different from a store that's systematically selling counterfeit goods. But repeated infringement is something we take seriously.
Fraudulent complaints
Unfortunately, some people abuse legal removal processes to harass competitors or remove legitimate content. Filing a false DMCA notice is perjury. Filing fraudulent trademark complaints can constitute unfair competition.
If you believe you're the target of fraudulent complaints, document everything and consider consulting an attorney. If we determine complaints against your store are being filed in bad faith, we'll take that into account.
Submitting a complaint
If you're a rights holder who believes a CartOS store is infringing your intellectual property, you can submit a complaint to legal@cart-os.com.
For DMCA notices, include all elements required by 17 U.S.C. § 512(c)(3). For trademark complaints, include evidence of your trademark rights, identify the infringing content, and explain how it creates likelihood of confusion.
We won't act on vague or incomplete complaints. The more specific and well-documented your complaint, the faster we can evaluate it.
What we don't do
We're not arbiters of legal disputes between parties. If you have a contract dispute, business disagreement, or other conflict with a CartOS merchant, that's between you and them—not something we'll intervene in absent a court order.
We also don't make judgments about whether products themselves are legal to sell. A product being legal or illegal varies by jurisdiction, and merchants are responsible for understanding the laws that apply to their business. We act on clear legal violations, not gray areas.
Transparency
We believe in being transparent about legal requests we receive. We notify affected merchants whenever legally permitted. In some cases—like certain law enforcement requests—we may be prohibited from notifying you, at least temporarily.
We don't preemptively share information with authorities or proactively monitor stores for legal issues. We respond to valid legal process, not hunches.