IP Protection and Notice-and-Takedown Policy

Purpose and scope

This Policy covers copyright, trademark, patent, registered-design and trade-secret rights in content published on the Service — including Listings (their text, images, datasheets and certification claims), Tender postings and bids, reviews, and other User Content. It supplements the intellectual-property and user-content sections of the Terms of Service; in case of conflict, mandatory law prevails and the stricter rule otherwise applies.

Ownership and responsibility

• Vendors and Clients retain ownership of the content they publish and license it to us as described in the Terms; nothing on the platform transfers ownership of a user's intellectual property to us or to other users.
• The publishing party is solely responsible for holding the rights, licences and permissions necessary for everything it publishes — including images, datasheets, standards references, brand names and certification marks.
• Certification and accreditation claims (for example ISO/IEC 17025 scope statements) must be genuine: displaying another party's certificate, accreditation or conformity mark without authorisation is both an intellectual-property violation and a material breach of the Terms.

How to report an infringement

Rights holders — or their authorised representatives — may submit an infringement notice by email to [email protected] with the subject line "IP notice". We acknowledge every properly formed notice within two (2) Business Days. Reports about content that does not involve intellectual property (for example prohibited goods) should use the reporting channel in the Prohibited and Restricted Listings Policy.

What a notice must contain

• identification of the intellectual-property right relied on (for example a registration number, or sufficient detail of an unregistered right) and evidence that you own it or are authorised to act for the owner;
• the exact location of the allegedly infringing content on the Service (URL or listing reference) and identification of the protected work, sign or design it infringes;
• your name, organisation and contact details;
• a good-faith statement that the use complained of is not authorised by the rights holder or by law, and that the information in the notice is accurate;
• the physical or electronic signature of the rights holder or its authorised representative.

How we process notices

• On receiving a properly formed notice we acknowledge it within two (2) Business Days and remove or disable access to the identified content pending review;
• We notify the publishing party, share the substance of the claim, and give it the opportunity to respond or to submit a counter-notice within ten (10) Business Days;
• If no substantiated counter-notice arrives in time, the content stays down; if a substantiated counter-notice arrives, we forward it to the complainant and may restore the content unless the complainant confirms within ten (10) Business Days that it has commenced court or other binding proceedings;
• Where a Listing is removed under this Policy, Orders in progress are handled under the refunds-disputes provisions of the Terms, and we may withhold the related settlement instruction to the Payment Provider pending resolution;
• Urgent cases — for example content creating a safety or fraud risk — may be acted on immediately, with the steps above following promptly.

Counter-notice

A publishing party whose content is removed may submit a counter-notice to [email protected] stating, with evidence: (a) why it is entitled to publish the content (for example ownership, a licence, or lawful independent creation); (b) its contact details; and (c) its consent to the information being shared with the complainant and to the jurisdiction of the forum governing its Orders or the Terms. False statements in a notice or counter-notice may expose the sender to liability and to account sanctions.

Repeat infringers

We keep a record of substantiated notices per account. A Vendor against whom two (2) or more substantiated infringement determinations are recorded within any twelve (12) months — or who commits a single deliberate or fraudulent infringement, such as displaying a forged certificate — is treated as a repeat infringer: we will suspend or permanently terminate the account and remove its Listings, and where required by law we will report the conduct. Circumventing a takedown by re-listing the same content under a different name or account is itself grounds for immediate termination.

Misuse of this process

This process exists to protect genuine rights. Notices or counter-notices submitted in bad faith, to suppress competition, or containing knowingly false statements are a material breach of the Terms, may expose the sender to liability for damages, and may lead us to disregard them and sanction the sending account.

Changes to this Policy

We may update this Policy from time to time in line with law and platform practice. Material changes will be notified at least thirty (30) days before they take effect, by in-product message, email or sign-in prompt, and the current version with its effective date is always available on this page. Changes do not apply retroactively to Orders already concluded.

Contact

IP notices, counter-notices and questions about this Policy: [email protected] (legal and compliance — subject "IP notice"), or by post at 25 Seah Street, #02-01, Singapore 188381 (UEN: 202639527G).