Respond promptly to infringement notices; restore content after 15 days if no response

9. Respond promptly to infringement notices; restore content after 15 days if no response

Cost: No cost involved. You must establish a fixed workflow: receive the notice, forward it to the seller, collect the seller’s defense arguments, and publicly disclose the final outcome. All steps must be documented.

In plain terms: If someone sends you an infringement notice with preliminary evidence, you must promptly delete, block, or remove the relevant content and forward the notice to the seller. Failing to act in time means you and the seller will be jointly liable for any additional losses incurred. After receiving the seller’s defense, forward it to the claimant and wait 15 days. If the claimant files no complaint or lawsuit during this period, you can restore the content.

Benefit: Rights holders are entitled to request e-commerce platforms to take necessary measures such as deleting, blocking, or removing links to infringing content, as well as terminating related transactions and services. Such notices must include preliminary evidence of infringement. Merely sending a generic statement is insufficient. Once a platform receives a valid notice, it must act promptly and forward the notice to the seller; failure to do so makes the platform jointly liable for any additional damages incurred. After a seller submits a defense, the platform must wait 15 days after forwarding the statement to the rights holder before lifting any measures, provided no complaint or lawsuit is filed. If a platform knows or should know of infringement yet fails to act, it will also bear joint liability with the seller. Regulatory authorities may also order the platform to make corrections within a set timeframe; failure to comply may result in fines ranging from 50,000 to 500,000 RMB for minor violations, and 500,000 to 2,000,000 RMB for serious cases. Conversely, if a party maliciously issues false notices causing losses to sellers, they must pay double the compensation owed (applies nationwide).

Evidence grade: A

Notes: If you operate a general website rather than a full e-commerce platform, you should follow the notice-and-takedown rules outlined in the Civil Code. The key difference lies in the waiting period after receiving a seller’s defense: the E-commerce Law specifies a mandatory 15-day window, while the Civil Code only requires a “reasonable timeframe.” Additionally, the E-commerce Law explicitly mandates that platforms disclose all received notices, seller defenses, and final resolutions to the public, as required under Article 44.

Sources: Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (2018). E-commerce Law (Articles 42, 43, 44, 45, 84). <https://flk.npc.gov.cn/detail?id=2c909fdd678bf17901678bf8af050b81>; National People's Congress (2020). Civil Code (Article 1195, Article 1,196, Article 1,197). <https://www.court.gov.cn/zixun/xiangqing/233181.html>