Brand Protection Program (English Version)

Brand Protection Program Terms and Conditions

Valid version from 16/04/2024

Enrollment and participation in the Brand Protection Program ("BPP" or the "Program") implies acceptance of these Terms and Conditions applicable to the use of the BPP offered by Mercado Libre in the website www.mercadolibre.com (“Mercado Libre” or the “Website”).

Any person with legal capacity to contract who holds intellectual property rights and wishes to access and/or use the BPP to enforce their rights (hereinafter the "Member", once enrolled in the Program) may do so subject to these Terms and Conditions, which are complementary to the frequently asked questions about the Program (FAQs) published on the Website, and the General Terms and Conditions of Mercado Libre available on the Website.

These Terms and Conditions are binding and their acceptance is a requirement to create a user account and use the Program. 

The Member declares to have read, understood and accepted all the conditions set forth in these Terms and Conditions, as well as in the other documents incorporated therein by reference, prior to the enrollment as a BPP Member. In addition, the Member accepts to receive any communication and information regarding the BPP by digital means.

 

01. Scope of the Brand Protection Program

At Mercado Libre we work every day to provide the best shopping experience.

For that purpose, in order to ensure that our buyers acquire original products and services which do not infringe rights of third parties, Mercado Libre actively collaborates with the holders of intellectual property rights to facilitate the enforcement of their rights and ensure a safer and more reliable transactional space.

What rights can be enrolled in the Program?

• Through participation in the BPP, the following intellectual property rights can be enforced:
• Registered trademarks.
• Granted patents and/or utility models.
• Protected plant varieties.
• Copyrights.
• Related rights.
• Granted industrial models and designs.

Who can enroll?

• Owners of intellectual property rights.
• Legal representatives with valid documentation.

02. How the Program Works

The BPP is the tool developed by Mercado Libre for intellectual property rights owners that consists of a listing notice and takedown system. This allows the owners to report listings on the Website which allegedly infringe their rights.

In order to use the Program, the owner of the rights must enroll by filling out the form and submitting the corresponding documentation for the rights they are seeking to enforce. After the request of enrollment is approved, the owner shall become a Member and will be welcomed to the Program, receiving a link to access the account credentials that will allow them to monitor and report listings on the Website. Any Member may request the cancellation of their account at any time, without providing any reason to do so.

Once enrolled, the Member may use the BPP tool or access its functionalities through Mercado Libre’s Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) to monitor the Website and report listings which are alledgedly infringing their rights.

It is only possible to report listings in countries where the Member had credited the existence of valid and enforceable rights owned by them, previously enrolled in the Program, in which case Members may report listings not only on the Website www.mercadolibre.com.ar, but also on Mercado Libre websites of said countries.

After the report, the listing will be suspended and the notice will be served to the reported seller, who shall have a specific period of time to reply to the Member through the Program and submit a counter-notice to prove that the listing does not infringe their rights.

If the reported seller does not respond to the Member within the deadline, the listing shall be permanently removed from the Website.

If the reported seller submits a counter-notice, the Member must review the response within a specific period of time and, if it is satisfactory, request the reactivation of the listing. If, on the contrary, the response is not satisfactory for valid reasons, the Member may ratify their report and the listing will be permanently removed from the Website.

However, if the Member does not answer the response of the reported seller within the  deadline, the listing shall be reactivated.

Please note that Mercado Libre does not analyze counter-notices from sellers or the documentation they may send to the Members, and does not intervene in the final decision of the Member as to listing removals. 

A listing that is reactivated after being reported, whether because the Member did not share their decision with Mercado Libre after the seller replied or because the Member rectified the report, may be reported again by the same Member or other Members of the Program. Members who misuse the Program may be subject to sanctions.  

Sellers who are repeatedly reported may be sanctioned based on the reports submitted by the Members, including an impact on their reputation, restrictions in the account, suspension, and the temporary or permanent shut down of their account.

03. Program Recipients

The BPP is available for owners of intellectual property rights and their legal representatives.

A holder is the owner of the intellectual property rights, while a legal representative is authorized by the owner to act on their behalf, according to these Terms and Conditions.

The holder of the BPP membership, i.e. the Member, must coincide with the holder of intellectual property rights, notwithstanding the fact that they may be represented by their legal representatives. For example, official distributors or exclusive representatives who do not have powers duly granted to act on behalf of intellectual property right owners to enforce their rights may not be eligible to join the Program. 

04. Program Enrollment Requirements

It is mandatory to complete all the fields in the enrollment form with truthful data in order to enroll in the BPP.

The Member shall fill out the form with exact, accurate and truthful personal information ("Personal Data") and keep such data updated while participating in the Program. Before confirming the membership, Mercado Libre will review the information and documentation provided.

Members shall be liable, in any case, for the truthfulness, accuracy, validity and authenticity of their information and documentation before Mercado Libre and/or third parties.

Mercado Libre reserves the right to request additional documentation and/or information at any given moment in order to verify BPP enrollment data.

In the event that Mercado Libre confirms enrollment in the Program, the Member will receive a link to create a username and password. If the Member does not use the link during the following seven calendar days, they will have to request a new one through the “Help” section.

Each Member shall keep their password safely and regularly change it to protect the security of its account. From that moment, each Member shall access the Program account by entering their user name and personal security password. The Program account is not authorized to perform purchase and sale operations on the Website.

The Member expressly authorizes Mercado Libre to share the email address provided in the enrollment form with the sellers whose listings are reported so that they can get in contact once the reporting process has been finalized.

The sale, assignment or transfer of the BPP account under any title is forbidden.

Mercado Libre reserves the right to reject any request for enrollment as well as to suspend or shut down an existing account for errors, inconsistencies or omissions related to the information and/or documentation submitted, and for making or maintaining ungrounded reports, without giving rise to any rights of compensation or indemnification for the Member. In the same way, Mercado Libre may suspend or permanently shut down an account if no activity is registered for a long period of time.

05. Listing Reporting Process

06. Program Use 

BPP Members may report listings of sellers on the Website whose contents or offered products allegedly infringe their intellectual property rights, such as registered trademarks, granted patents, granted utility models, protected plant varieties, copyrights, related rights, granted industrial models and/or designs.

Each Member shall be solely responsible for all notices, rectifications or ratifications thereof, and messages sent within the context of their reports.

The Program shall be used to make reports that are based exclusively on alleged infringements of intellectual property rights. For example, reports of listings are not to be made for price control, smuggling, fair competition, tax evasion, distribution channels, contractual breaches, among others. In the aforementioned cases, the Member shall take the appropriate legal or administrative action. The reports or ratifications of reports that the Member makes without respecting the limitations of their intellectual property rights may be subject to sanctions from Mercado Libre.

The BPP offers the Member the chance to report brand infringements related to parallel imports of products that weren’t launched in Brazil by the owner of the rights or with their authorization. It also provides the chance to report, in other Latin American countries, the offering of products that were not intended for sale (such as free samples). In these cases, the Member must specify these situations, providing the information or documentation to credit them, being solely responsible for any false claims.

In addition, the Member may report listings based only on the rights they have enrolled in the Program, providing the appropriate reason for reporting. Reports that do not meet these requirements may be rejected without giving rise to any right to compensation in favor of the Member.

In the previous cases, as well as in the other breach cases of the Program’s Terms and Conditions, Mercado Libre reserves the right to sanction the corresponding Member, which may involve limiting the number of reports they may submit or suspending the account in the Program.

In case of conflict between different intellectual property rights owners, Mercado Libre may suspend the possibility for them to report each other using the BPP and/or refrain from processing reports when they originate only from one of them, until either or both inform Mercado Libre of an amicable solution reached by the parties outside the Program to solve the matter, or a decision issued by a competent authority. 

Mercado Libre reserves the right not to accept the report and to maintain the current listing. The Member and the owner of the listing will have to settle the dispute in the corresponding legal or administrative sphere.

07. Obligations of Members

1. Comply with the Program Terms and Conditions.
2. Make reports exclusively for alleged infringements of Intellectual Property Rights enrolled in the BPP, under their exclusive responsibility, and act in good faith, without committing fraud or misusing the Program, acting with due diligence, respecting the limitations of the rights invoked, the rights of third parties, the legal uses made by users of the Website and applicable legislation, being otherwise subject to sanctions. In case of doubt, the Member shall obtain professional advice by his/her own means before making a report.
3. Submit reports based on the right enrolled in the BPP and for the correct reason.
4. Provide all the valid and current information and documentation that Mercado Libre considers necessary to enroll and remain in the Program and keep it updated.
5. Warrant the validity, enforceability and ownership of the Intellectual Property Rights enrolled in the Program and immediately inform Mercado Libre of any changes in this regard through the BPP tool. Update the records or deposits corresponding to Intellectual Property Rights, in case of renewal, as soon as their expiration occurs.
6. Accept and comply with Mercado Libre Privacy Policy.
7. Indemnify Mercado Libre, reported sellers and third parties for any damage or loss caused by the Member due to the BPP use, such as cancellation of listings from the Website and consequent loss of sales. The indemnity obligation shall be personal in case the representation invoked by a legal representative is not valid.
8. Maintain in strict confidentiality all information to which Members have access as a result of the enrollment in, and use of, the Program, as well as the personal password to access the tool.
9. Immediately inform Mercado Libre in case of reports made in error through the Support section within the tool.
10. Review all the counter-notices provided by the sellers to each report and, in case of rejection, state a valid reason.

 

08. Validity and Modification of Terms and Conditions

The Program and these Terms and Conditions shall remain in full force and effect for an indefinite period of time or until Mercado Libre modifies them. In any case, Mercado Libre shall publish such modifications on the Website ten (10) calendar days in advance so that Members may review them and continue using the Program.

Any Member who does not agree with the modifications made by Mercado Libre may request the shutdown of his/her account, at any time.

 

09. Information Privacy and Protection

At Mercado Libre we make responsible use of personal information, protecting the privacy of users who entrust us with their data and taking the necessary measures to guarantee the security of our services. Learn more about how we take care of data, including the Personal Information of Program Members, in our Privacy Statement.

At the request of the Members, Mercado Libre may share Personal Information of the sellers reported through the Program under the terms set forth in our Privacy Statement, for them to exercise their Intellectual Property Rights outside the Platform.

If, in order to comply with the objectives pursued by the Program, Mercado Libre shall assign to its Members personal information of its users, Members shall treat such information in accordance with these Terms and Conditions and the Applicable Data Protection Laws. Likewise, in the event that the assignment implies an international transfer of data, they agree to be bound by the International Data Transfer Annex, which is an integral part of these Terms and Conditions.    

 

10. Responsibility

Mercado Libre provides users with a virtual space that allows them to offer, sell and/or buy goods and services. Sellers are the owners of the products and are solely responsible for determining the conditions of their offer, assuming the commitment not to infringe the rights of third parties.

Therefore, Mercado Libre makes the Program available to Intellectual Property owners to cooperate in the protection of their rights on our Website. Program Members are the ones who identify and detect the alleged infringements and make the reports against seller listings, at their own risk and assuming responsibility for them and for the correspondence exchanged with the sellers by virtue thereof. In this sense, Members are the ones who shall protect their rights and who shall be responsible for the consequences arising from their participation in the Program.  

 

11. Intellectual Property on the Program

Mercado Libre and/or its related companies are owners or licensees of all Intellectual and Industrial Property Rights on the Program, such as its brand, name, software, among others, protected by national and international laws.

In no case shall it be understood that a Member has any right over them except to use the Program in accordance with the provisions of these Terms and Conditions. The improper use or use contrary to current regulations on Intellectual and Industrial Property Rights of Mercado Libre, as well as their total or partial reproduction, are forbidden.

Members shall refrain from performing any act that could cause damage, loss of reputation, or decrease in the value of the Intellectual and Industrial Property Rights of Mercado Libre.

 

12. Indemnity

Each Member shall be responsible and shall hold Mercado Libre harmless, as well as its related companies, officers, executives, successors, administrators, representatives and/or employees, from any administrative or legal claim that may arise from the Program use.

 

13. Applicable Law and Dispute Resolution 

Any dispute and/or controversy arising from the interpretation or implementation of the Program shall be settled in accordance with the principle of good faith. Mercado Libre and Members shall make commercially reasonable efforts to reach an amicable solution, pursuant to the spirit of mutual cooperation.

In the event that the discrepancy and/or dispute cannot be resolved in good faith, the provisions of the Jurisdiction and Applicable Law clause of the General Terms and Conditions shall apply.