Intellectual Property Violations

Listing prohibited intellectual property may result in the cancellation of your listings, or the suspension or removal of your selling privileges. Sellers are responsible for ensuring that the products they offer are legal and authorized for sale or re-sale.

If Sizzle determines that the content of a product detail page or listing is prohibited, potentially illegal, or inappropriate, we may remove or alter it without prior notice. Sizzle reserves the right to make judgments about whether or not content is appropriate. Sizzle follows the Digital Millennium Copyright Act notice-and-takedown process and terminates the selling privileges of those who repeatedly infringe others’ intellectual property.

Examples of prohibited listings

Counterfeit merchandise: Products offered for sale on Sizzle must be authentic. Any product that has been illegally replicated, reproduced or manufactured is prohibited.
Trademarks: A trademark is a word, symbol, color, sound, or any combination of these things that is used to identify the source of a good. Trademarks are used to distinguish products and services from those provided by others and to indicate the source of the products or services. For example, the mark Sizzle indicates that the retail sales services being offered come from Sizzle, not from another source. Any name or design attached to a product or service could potentially be a trademark. Products and listings that infringe another party’s trademark are prohibited. You are responsible for securing appropriate permission to use others’ trademarks.
Copyrights: Copyrights protects original works of expression (such as books, music, artwork, and photographs). Content that violates another party’s copyright is prohibited. You are responsible for securing appropriate permission to use others’ copyrights.
Patents: As a seller you are responsible for ensuring your products do not violate others’ patent rights. A patent is a property right issued by a government that gives the owner the right to exclude others from making, using, importing, offering for sale, or selling the property (idea) claimed in the patent – in the country the patent was issued. Think of it as a property right, such as when you own a house. As a home owner, you have the right to exclude others from trespassing (e.g.., entering your home) because the government has given you a right in that property. Similarly, a patent owner has the right to exclude others from trespassing (i.e., making, using, importing, offering for sale, or selling) the claimed invention because the government has given the owner a right to exclude others from making, using, etc., the patented invention.
Unauthorized and unlicensed merchandise: All items offered for sale on Sizzle must be commercially produced and authorized or licensed for sale as a retail product. Read our rules for selling textbooks. (For exceptions to this policy, see Collectible Book Requirements.
Recopied media: Media products (books, movies, CDs, television programs, software titles, video games, and so on) that have been recopied, dubbed, duplicated, or transferred without permission of the rights holder are illegal to sell and are prohibited. This includes:
- Books: Unauthorized copies of books are prohibited.
- Music: Bootleg copies, unauthorized live concerts, unauthorized soundboard recordings, unauthorized merchandise, and so on, are prohibited.
- Movies: Unauthorized copies of movies in any format are prohibited. Unreleased/pre-released movies, screening copies, trailers, unpublished and unauthorized film scripts (no ISBN number), electronic press kits, and unauthorized props are also prohibited.
- Photos: Unauthorized copies of photos are prohibited.
- Radio programs and concerts: Unauthorized recordings or copies of recordings of radio programs are prohibited.
- Software: Recopied or duplicated software in any format is prohibited. Academic, OEM, back-up, fulfillment, promotional, beta (pre-release), unauthorized freeware/shareware, and softlifted versions of software are prohibited. Read our rules for selling software.
- Television programs: Unauthorized copies of television programs (including pay per view), programs never broadcast, unauthorized scripts, unauthorized props, and screening copies are prohibited.
- Video games: Video games sold on Sizzle must be full retail versions. Recopied and transferred video games are prohibited. Mod chips, silver disks, video game emulators, Sega boot disks, game enhancers, unauthorized video game compilations, unauthorized bundles of video game products, and unauthorized accessories are also prohibited.
Transferred media: Media transferred from one format to another is prohibited. This includes but is not limited to films converted from NTSC to Pal and Pal to NTSC, laser disc to video, television to video, CD-ROM to cassette tape, from the Internet to any digital format, and so on.
Promotional media: Promotional versions of media products, including books (advance reading copies and uncorrected proofs), music, and videos (screening copies) are prohibited. These products are distributed for promotional consideration and generally are not authorized for retail distribution or sale. (For exceptions to this policy, see Collectible Book Requirements.
Rights of publicity: You are responsible for ensuring your products and listings do not violate others’ rights of publicity. For example, you are responsible for obtaining appropriate permission to use celebrity images and celebrity names in your listings and on your products. This includes celebrity product endorsements, as well as the use of a celebrity's likeness on merchandise or in marketing materials, such as posters, mouse pads, clocks, image collections in digital format, advertisements, and so on.