How Temu Works With Brands to Protect Intellectual Property Rights

When Temu launched in September 2022, it set out to connect consumers with sellers offering quality, affordable products. Today, the platform has built out a comprehensive system to keep counterfeit goods at bay.

The number of brands Temu actively scans for fakes has grown from 3,000 to more than 5,000 over the past year. Temu now resolves more than 99% of requests to remove unauthorized products within three business days—most in under 24 hours.

Launched in April 2024, Temu’s Brand Guardian Initiative (BGI) now includes more than 1,500 brands and enables brand owners to upload their trademarks, logos, and product images directly into Temu’s detection system, access one-on-one support for complex cases, and receive regular enforcement reports.

The Brand Guardian Initiative helps Temu to create a safer, more trustworthy shopping experience and to  work with brands to protect their IP on the platform.

Case Study: Japan’s DAIWA Fishing Brand

Tokyo-based GLOBERIDE, the company behind fishing brand DAIWA, has strengthened its IP protection efforts through Temu’s BGI.

Before enrolling, addressing unauthorized listings across markets could be slow and cumbersome. After joining BGI in 2024 and sharing detailed product and rights information with Temu’s IP team, GLOBERIDE can now detect and remove infringing listings more efficiently across multiple markets.

“Among all e-commerce platforms we work with, Temu has demonstrated exceptional speed and efficiency in IP cooperation, resulting in seamless collaboration,” said the head of IP at GLOBERIDE’s Intellectual Property & Legal Department.

With GLOBERIDE’s product images and trademark information loaded into Temu’s detection system, most suspicious listings can be detected and removed before they are shown to consumers, helping reduce the chance that customers accidentally buy infringing goods.

Case Study: Florida Startup Nightcap

The stakes are even higher for smaller companies, as they typically lack the resources to operate an effective IP protection program. Nightcap is a Florida-based startup known for drink covers that prevent drink spiking. The company now sells to more than 70 countries but operates with a team of fewer than 10.

Nightcap says it’s struggled with copycat sellers since launching in 2019, and that filing takedown requests on some platforms often led to slow or unhelpful responses. “They simply tell you to get a court order or you’re out of luck,” said co-founder Michael Benarde.

That changed after Nightcap joined Temu’s BGI a year ago. Temu integrated Nightcap’s copyright, trademark and patent information into its detection system, blocking problematic listings before the company has to report them. A dedicated Temu staff member also maintains regular contact with the company.

“For a small business, we have limited affordable or practical recourse to protect our inventions,” Benarde said. “Temu has saved us a lot of time, and we now see them as a long-term partner in IP protection.”

How the System Works

Temu’s approach to IP protection covers multiple stages of the shopping journey.

Before sellers can list products, they must agree to policies that explicitly prohibit IP infringement. An identity-verification system checks documents for forgery and cross-references seller information against lists of previously banned sellers and government sanctions lists.

Temu’s monitoring system combines algorithms with human review and screens for potential infringements before products go live and after they appear on the site and app. The platform’s proactive monitoring database includes more than 5 million images and 9 million keywords. When the system catches an unauthorized product after it’s been listed, that information is used to improve detection before similar items can go live.

Brand owners can report violations through Temu’s IP Protection Portal or use the Temu Brand Registry to store trademark information and speed up future reports.

Industry Partnerships

Temu has deepened its engagement with global industry associations to strengthen its IP protection efforts. The company works closely with the International Anti-Counterfeiting Coalition (IACC) and hosted roundtables at IACC’s annual conferences in 2024 and 2025. It has joined the IACC’s Marketplace Advisory Council and sits on committees within the International Trademark Association (INTA) and the Intellectual Property Owners Association (IPO).

Temu remains committed to sustained investment in compliance and consumer safety. The platform plans to continue expanding its IP support programs and working with industry leaders to advance protection measures.