Chinese supplier selling copies of my design
Preserve the listings and comparison samples, establish which UK rights you hold, and get specialist advice before making allegations. Use the marketplace reporting route suited to the right and listing, while protecting supply continuity. Practical supplier follow-up can be coordinated with Cambridge China Bridge.
Preserve the offer before contacting the supplier
Save the complete listing, its address, seller profile, product images, description and capture date. Record evidence of UK targeting, such as delivery options, currency and customer messages. Keep original files alongside screenshots. Distinguish what the listing shows from what you suspect about the factory behind it.
Where practicable, buy a comparison sample and retain the order confirmation, invoice, packaging and delivery label. Photograph it beside your approved sample from matching angles. Label each sample and record who received or handled it. Preserve differences as well as similarities, without altering the original goods.
Establish the relevant UK rights
A UK design registration helps protect product appearance, such as shape or pattern. Unregistered design protection can also arise automatically. Ask a specialist to identify the relevant right and check ownership, qualification, scope and whether protection remains in force. Do not treat visual similarity alone as a completed infringement assessment.
Gather registration documents, the registered images, dated drawings, development correspondence, designer agreements and records of the first public disclosure. Keep evidence of what the supplier received and when. Our IP and tooling guide covers preventive sourcing arrangements; this guide addresses evidence and action after copies appear.
Get advice before demands or public accusations
An intellectual property professional can advise on a dispute or act for you. Give them the evidence pack and explain the outcome you want: removal of listings, stopping further supply, a negotiated arrangement or advice on further action. Ask them to assess the UK seller's conduct separately from the supplier's involvement.
Ask the adviser to review any proposed demand before sending it. Keep supplier communications factual: identify the product, attach the preserved comparison and request an explanation of who authorised the sale. Record the response without treating a denial, an apology or a deleted listing as proof that the issue is resolved.
Use the appropriate marketplace reporting route
The Intellectual Property Office publishes guidance on marketplace tools for reporting and removing infringing listings. Use the relevant platform entry in that guidance, listed in the sources below, to locate its reporting route. Check that the route accepts the right you are asserting rather than choosing a brand complaint simply because it is familiar.
Prepare the listing addresses, seller details, rights documents, your authority to act and a concise explanation linking the copied features to the claimed right. Keep the submitted report, acknowledgement, case reference and response. Track rejected reports and replacement listings. Record removal as a platform outcome, without assuming it establishes liability or stops sales elsewhere.
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Protect supply while the dispute is assessed
Map open orders, stock, tooling locations and the drawings still held by the supplier. Agree internally who may approve new disclosures, revised production or a supplier change. If another source is needed, use our second-supplier qualification guide to test it against the approved specification before relying on it.
Cambridge China Bridge is a UK company with its own staff in China. For a bounded supplier-problem enquiry, send the product brief, supplier details, evidence pack and immediate supply concerns. Ask us to scope sample comparison and factory follow-up, while your specialist handles the legal assessment.
Frequently asked questions
What should I save before asking the factory to stop?
Save complete listings, seller profiles, capture dates and evidence of UK targeting. Keep correspondence and obtain a comparison sample where practicable, retaining its purchase and delivery records.
Can I act if I never registered my design?
Unregistered design protection can arise automatically. Ask a specialist whether your design qualifies, who owns the right and what evidence supports it before submitting a complaint.
Which marketplace complaint should I use?
Use the platform route identified in the IPO marketplace guidance, then check that it accepts your particular right. Prepare the rights evidence and explain how the specific listing relates to it.
Does a deleted listing mean the supplier has stopped?
Treat deletion as a recorded outcome for that listing. Check for replacement listings, preserve the supplier's response and review continuing sales evidence with your adviser.