Trademarks in Livestream E-commerce: Hosts, Stores, and Brand Authorization

The livestream room is where trademark conflicts are most concentrated today: dozens of brand names and over a hundred verbal mentions can appear in a single evening, and any exposure beyond the authorized scope can trigger platform penalties or complaints from rights holders. This chain involves platform rules, livestream marketing regulations, and trademark law itself. Below, it is broken into three layers: "store qualifications — authorization tiers — use in the livestream."

1. Who Blocks You at Which Stage

• Platform rules: documents such as Douyin E-commerce's Store Type Specification and Brand Qualification Configuration Operation Manual determine whether your store type can be opened and whether brand qualifications pass; the targeted admission rules of WeChat小店 and Channels showcases determine whether a category can be entered.
• Livestream marketing regulation: the Administrative Measures for Livestream Marketing (Trial) issued by the Cyberspace Administration of China and seven other departments (国信办发文〔2021〕5号, effective May 25, 2021) set out the responsibilities of platforms, livestream room operators, livestream marketers, and their service agencies.
• Trademark law: verbal mentions, stickers, backdrop boards, and product cards in the livestream are trademark use in commercial activities, governed by Articles 48 and 57 of the Trademark Law.

2. Store Qualifications: How R Marks and TM Marks Are Used

Taking Douyin E-commerce's Store Type Specification as an example, the correspondence between store types and trademark requirements is:

• Official flagship store / flagship store: an owned brand's trademark must be an R mark, or a TM mark accepted for six months with no rejection or review; an authorized brand's trademark must be an R mark. For authorization, domestic brands need first-tier exclusive authorization and overseas brands need first- to second-tier exclusive authorization; only one official flagship store per brand may exist on the platform, and the same entity may open no more than 5 official flagship stores (including flagship stores).
• Exclusive store: R mark, or TM mark accepted for six months with no rejection or review; first- to second-tier exclusive authorization for domestic brands; no more than 5 per entity.
• Specialty store: multi-brand collection operation with relatively relaxed authorization tier requirements — first- to third-tier for domestic and first- to fourth-tier for overseas, likewise no more than 5 per entity.
• Enterprise store / individual-business store / personal store: no brand authorization needed and products may be published as "unbranded," but some specific brands require brand qualifications (see the platform's brand restricted-sale rules); individual-business and personal stores are also subject to the List of Brands Not Allowed to Operate.

Specific standards for brand qualifications (per the official operation manual of Douyin E-commerce):

• Domestic R mark: provide the trademark registration certificate issued by the national trademark office / CNIPA;
• Domestic TM mark: provide the acceptance notice with the application being at least six months old and no rejection record; where there is a rejection record but review was passed, the review decision or rejection-review ruling may be uploaded together, and the registered portion may be used;
• Overseas trademarks: provide the trademark registration approval issued by the national trademark office / CNIPA, or WIPO registration proof plus a translation (stamped by the translation agency) plus the territorial extension certificate issued by the national trademark office / CNIPA;
• The trademark applied for must not be a purely graphical trademark, regardless of store type;
• Goods of different brands must fall within the approved scope of use of the corresponding trademark registrations;
• The registrant field is filled with the latest "applicant name" shown on the trademark office's official website;
• The validity of a TM mark is 24 months per the platform's standard (from the acceptance issuance date); if the trademark ultimately fails to register, or is invalidated by cancellation or opposition, the platform may revoke the brand and related authorization qualifications.

3. Authorization Tiers: Flagship Stores Need Exclusive Authorization

Authorization letters are the most often rejected material at onboarding; key rules:

• An ordinary authorization letter applies to exclusive stores and specialty stores; an exclusive authorization letter applies to flagship stores — using an ordinary authorization to open a flagship store is almost certain to be rejected.
• Authorization must start from the trademark rights holder: for example, WeChat小店's targeted admission requires first-tier authorized distributors to provide a first-tier authorization document running from the trademark rights holder to the store-opening entity.
• Materials must bear a fresh red seal (most platforms expressly do not support electronic seals); embossed foil seals and printed seals are likewise not accepted.
• Where the trademark rights holder's entity differs from the store-opening entity (e.g., group affiliates, overseas rights holders), a statement of the affiliation or a trademark use license authorization letter must be added.

4. Trademark Use in the Livestream

Store qualifications only solve "whether you can sell"; livestream content also decides "whether you can say it and show it":

• Verbally mentioning brand names, corner stickers, backdrop boards, main images of product cards, and brand words in livestream titles are all source-identifying uses in commercial activities.
• Use without rights is infringement: using another's registered trademark in the livestream for product promotion or traffic without permission may constitute the infringing circumstances listed in Article 57 of the Trademark Law; those who only sell genuine goods and resell them as-is generally benefit from the exhaustion of rights doctrine, but repackaging, breaking bulk, or promotion beyond a reasonable scope can still infringe.
• The authorization scope must cover livestream channels: many brand authorizations only say "e-commerce sales" without "livestream marketing or short-video promotion," placing the host's verbal mentions outside the authorization. State the channels, platforms, and account scope clearly when signing.
• Platform-level review obligations: the Administrative Measures for Livestream Marketing (Trial) require platforms to sign agreements with livestream marketing service agencies and livestream room operators and to perform review obligations on the authenticity and legality of livestream marketing content, goods, and services; platforms must also perform real-identity verification of livestream room operators and marketers based on ID information and unified social credit codes, and establish dynamic verification mechanisms. For merchants, this means qualifications and authorizations may be spot-checked at any time.

5. Common Pitfalls and Practical Recommendations

1. White-label riding on famous brands: using a well-known brand's words for traffic on unauthorized goods (titles, verbal mentions, stickers) earns platform violation delisting, and the rights holder can claim separately.
2. Submitting a TM mark under six months old: directly rejected by the system; acceptance over six months with no rejection is a hard threshold.
3. Purely graphical trademarks: not accepted regardless of store type — pay attention to textual elements when naming.
4. Missing elements in authorization letters: no registration number, no authorization term, no exclusivity statement, or an electronic seal.
5. Registered class inconsistent with operated goods: the approved scope of the registered class does not match the goods sold, failing platform verification.
6. Brand name inconsistent with the certificate: store brand naming must match the registration certificate; changing the brand name requires a corresponding additional registration.
7. Authorization expiring without renewal: store qualifications lapse after brand authorization expires and listings are removed; renew authorizations before expiry.
8. "Same style as ××" and "dupe" talk in the livestream: even without directly using the trademark word, directional descriptions may constitute unfair competition.

Practical recommendations

• Back-calculate trademark layout from the store type: to open a flagship store, secure R marks in core classes; if only a TM mark is available, start with an exclusive store or enterprise store as a transition.
• Register classes covering actual operations: register not only the main class but supporting classes (e.g., Class 25 + Class 35 for a clothing brand) to avoid scope mismatches during platform verification.
• Standardize authorization letter templates: prepare ordinary and exclusive authorization templates in advance with complete elements and proper seals to reduce repeated supplementary filings.
• Contracts with hosts and MCNs set clear boundaries: which brand words may be used, on which platforms and accounts they may be shown, and the consequences of exceeding the scope.
• Maintain a brand qualification ledger: record trademark status (pending/registered/under review), authorization terms, and expiry reminders, eliminating low-level mistakes like lapsed qualifications.

6. Summary

Trademark compliance in livestream e-commerce is a three-layer nesting: the store layer looks at R/TM marks and authorization tiers, the content layer looks at use licenses for livestream scenarios, and the legal layer looks at infringement risks beyond authorization. Aligning "trademark — authorization — livestream channels" is the prerequisite for stable broadcasting and stable listings. The rules cited in this guide are current as of 2026; defer to the competent authorities and platforms' latest requirements.

7. Where to Get It Done

If you need agency for the above procedures, book a licensed trademark agent's license filing service with MyTMBee, with full assistance from material preparation through submission and follow-up.