A clone store cannot run on its own. It needs somewhere to run, a domain, a way to take payments and a way to get visitors. Each of those is a company with rules against fraud and copyright infringement, and each can remove a different part of the clone.
This guide covers who they are, what each needs from you, and a sensible order to go in.
This is general information, not legal advice. Rules and forms differ by company and by country. If you are unsure whether to file, or what to claim, ask a lawyer.
The five routes
1. The store platform
Most clones run on a hosted store platform, often the same one the original uses, because the copying tools are built for it. The platform can close the whole store, which takes down every page at once.
Platforms have a form for reporting intellectual property infringement. They want to know which of your work was copied (your product photos and descriptions), where it appears on the clone, and that you are the owner.
2. The host
If the clone is not on a store platform, a hosting company serves its pages. The host can take the site offline. Hosts publish an abuse contact or an abuse form, and many also accept copyright notices.
Some sites sit behind a service that proxies their traffic, which hides the real host. Those services usually pass a report on to the host and to their customer rather than removing anything themselves.
3. The domain registrar
The registrar is the company the domain was registered through. It can suspend the domain, which takes the clone offline at that address whoever hosts it. Registrars have an abuse contact, and registrars accredited by ICANN are required to have one and to look into reports.
Registrars tend to act on fraud and impersonation more readily than on copyright alone. Your evidence that the site takes orders it never ships, and that its domain uses your brand name, matters here.
4. The payment provider
The clone needs a way to take money. The payment provider can stop processing for it, which cuts off the reason it exists. Most providers have a form for reporting a merchant for fraud or for selling infringing goods.
Customer reports of orders that never arrived help here, as do screenshots of the checkout showing which provider takes the payment.
5. The ad platforms
Clones get almost all their visitors from paid ads. Each ad platform can remove the ads, and repeated reports can get the advertiser’s account closed. Facebook and Instagram take separate reports even though both are run by Meta, and TikTok has its own form.
Each report should name the specific ads: their Ad Library links, what they show, and where they lead. If you saw an ad running on several occasions, say so. It shows the ad kept running rather than appearing once.
What every report needs
The forms differ, but most ask for the same things:
- Who you are, and that you own the work or are authorized to act for the owner.
- What was copied: your product photos, descriptions, theme or trademarks, with links to the originals on your store.
- Where the copy is: the exact addresses of the pages on the clone.
- Evidence: screenshots side by side, the dates both domains were registered, and anything else that shows it is a copy rather than an authorized reseller.
- A statement that the information is accurate and that you believe the use is not authorized. For copyright notices under the US DMCA, this is made under penalty of perjury.
Two things to know before you file. First, many forms pass the filer’s name and contact details on to the site’s operator, so use a business address rather than a personal one. Second, if the site is in fact authorized (a reseller, a former partner), a false claim can come back on you. Check before you file.
Where to start
There is no single right order, but this one tends to work:
- The store platform, if there is one. It can remove everything at once.
- The ad platforms. Ads are where the clone’s visitors come from. Removing them stops new victims while the slower routes work.
- The payment provider. Without payments the clone has no reason to stay up.
- The host, if there is no store platform or it did not act.
- The registrar. Domain suspension is often the slowest route, but the most complete.
File the first three in parallel if you can. Keep a list of what you filed, where, and when, and check the clone’s address every few days. When a clone comes down it often comes back on a new domain within days, so keep watching.
How Fjerne helps
For each copy of your store, Fjerne works out which of these routes apply and in what order, finds the right form or contact for each, and prepares the report with the evidence already attached: screenshots, what was copied, registration dates and the ads it found. You review each report, edit it if you want, and send it in your own name. Your report page keeps the record of what you filed and what came down.
If you want to see what that looks like for your store, start with the free check.
