Feed error
Account issueCounterfeit goods policy violation
A counterfeit goods violation means Google believes you sell items bearing a trademark or logo identical to or indistinguishable from another brand's, which it treats as egregious and grounds for suspension. On Shopify it usually comes from replica or dupe products, or brand names used on unbranded goods.
How this appears in your account
The exact wording the channel shows, so you can match what you are looking at.
- Counterfeit goods policy violation
- Counterfeit products
- Counterfeit goods
What it affects
- Channels
- Google Shopping
- Attributes
- brand title description gtin
- Scope
- The whole account
Why it happens on Shopify
The store sells non-genuine branded products
Google defines counterfeit goods as items with a trademark or logo identical to or substantially indistinguishable from another brand's. Non-authentic products carrying brand labels or logos are the core case, and supplier catalogues imported into Shopify sometimes include them without the merchant checking.
Copy uses replica language next to a brand name
Google names terms such as knock off, replica, imitation, clone, faux, fake and mirror image when they refer to a brand name. A title like "Brand X style replica bag" is a violation even if the listing is honest about not being genuine.
Another brand's name is used on your own products
Putting a well-known brand name in the title, description or brand field of an unbranded or own-label product to borrow its search traffic can read as counterfeit. The Shopify vendor field mapped straight to brand is a common way this happens unintentionally.
A genuine reseller does not make the relationship clear
Selling authentic branded stock is allowed, but Google's best practice is for official or authorised resellers to make that relationship clear and use their own branding rather than the brand's identity. A store that looks like the brand's own site invites the flag.
How to fix it
-
Remove anything that is not genuine
Go through the catalogue for products that carry another brand's logo or trademark without being authentic, and take them off the store and out of the feed. Google treats this policy as egregious, so a review will not succeed while any such item remains.
-
Strip replica language from titles and descriptions
Search product titles, descriptions, tags and alt text for replica, dupe, inspired by, imitation, clone and similar words placed next to brand names. Remove or rewrite them in Shopify so the product page and the feed both change.
-
Map brand from a reliable source
Make sure the brand attribute names the actual manufacturer, and that own-label products carry your own brand rather than the supplier's or a famous one. The Shopify vendor field is often a supplier name, so check it before mapping it to brand.
-
Make authorised reselling visible
If you sell genuine branded goods, state on the site that you are an authorised reseller where that is true, use your own store branding and keep invoices or distributor agreements available. Submitting the manufacturer's GTIN for each variant also identifies the product as the real item.
-
Fix first, then appeal
Counterfeit violations lead to suspension on detection without prior warning, and reinstatement is only granted in compelling circumstances. Remove every violating item before you request a review or appeal, because Google warns that an appeal with violating items still present risks immediate failure.
How feedlab handles this
feedlab can map brand from a metafield or a conditional rule instead of trusting the vendor field, so own-label products carry your own brand in the feed. Validation before publish and the rule preview against your real catalogue make it easy to confirm that no replica wording or borrowed brand names reach the channel.
Frequently asked questions
I only sell genuine products. Why was I flagged?
Usually because of how the products are presented. Replica-style wording, brand names on unbranded items, or a site that looks like the brand's own can trigger the policy. Make your reseller relationship clear, clean up the copy, and appeal with documentation if the flag is wrong.
Do I get a warning before a counterfeit suspension?
No. Google classes counterfeit violations as egregious, which means accounts are suspended upon detection and without prior warning.
Can I sell products "inspired by" a brand?
You can sell your own designs, but not with another brand's trademark or logo on them, and not described using its name alongside words like replica, imitation or clone. Describe the product on its own terms instead.
Related errors
- Misrepresentation A Misrepresentation suspension means Google judged that your store could mislead shoppers about who you are, what you sell or what a purchase costs. On Shopify it usually traces to thin trust signals: missing contact details or return policy, an unclear business identity, costs revealed late or overstated claims.
- Missing value: brand The "Missing value: brand" issue means a channel expects a brand name for a product and the feed did not supply one, or supplied a placeholder it treats as empty. On Shopify it usually means the vendor field is blank, or holds a supplier or internal category rather than the brand a shopper would recognise.
- Invalid value: GTIN The "Invalid value: GTIN" error means the feed supplied a value in the gtin attribute that is not a structurally valid Global Trade Item Number. Unlike a missing GTIN this is usually a disapproval rather than a warning, because a wrong identifier matches the item to the wrong product rather than to none.
Primary sources
Channel specifications change. These are the official documents this page is based on.