In short: Mark items for enforcement, fix any validation errors, then send and track the notices in Notice View.
Understanding the enforcement workflow
This guide takes you through enforcement in Zeal from start to finish, so every notice you send is complete and every takedown is tracked. It has three stages:
Mark items for enforcement on posts, accounts or websites.
Fix validation errors so each notice has everything the platform needs.
Send and track notices in Notice View, and re-enforce anything still online.
Websites and domains follow a slightly different process, covered in sections 4 and 5.
Enforcement workflow, step by step
Enforcement workflow in bulk
Learn more: Understanding Enforcement · Understanding the Zeal Workflow
1. Mark items for enforcement
Enforcement starts when someone marks a post, account or website for enforcement. The button you use depends on your role and whether the item has already been checked or validated:
Button | Who uses it | What it does |
Check and Enforce | Quality Analyst (with the Enforcer role) | Confirms the item and marks it for enforcement in one step |
Validate & Enforce | Validator or Brand Partner | Approves the item and marks it for enforcement in one step |
Enforce | Any of the above | Marks the item for enforcement when it's already been checked or validated, or that step was skipped |
To see everything waiting, filter Enforcement → Enforcement Status → Marked for enforcement. This works for posts, accounts and websites. Add the Channel filter to focus on marketplaces, social media or webpages.
Note: Marking an item doesn't send a notice. It creates a draft, which is sent in stage 3, either by you or automatically if Auto-Enforcement is set up.
2. Fix validation errors
Validation errors stop a marked item reaching the enforcement queue, because the notice would be missing something the platform requires. To find them:
Filter Enforcement → Validation Errors, and add the Validation Errors column to your table.
Look for the warning icon beside the label on the right-hand side of each item.
Fix the error on the item itself, or select several items and fix them in bulk from the footer.
Once an item's errors are fixed, its notice appears automatically in Notice View under Queued.
Validation error | What it means | How to fix it |
Organization Enforcement Settings Incomplete | Your Organisation's enforcement details are missing | In Settings → General, add your official website and enforcement email, then save |
Organization POA Missing | No valid Letter of Authorisation (LOA/POA) is uploaded | Upload a valid LOA in Settings → General |
Post IP Document Missing / Expired / Incomplete / Exceeding Platform Limits | The IP document linked to the post doesn't meet enforcement requirements | Upload or update it in Settings → IP Portfolio → IP Certificates |
IP Certificate Is Not Verified for Portal Auto-Enforcement | The IP Certificate doesn't exactly match the platform's IP portal | In Settings → IP Portfolio → IP Certificates, make the registration number, region and brand name match the portal exactly, then select the platform in the platform compatibility field |
Post IP Asset Missing | No IP Asset, such as a trademark or copyright, is linked to the post | Open the post and select the IP Asset that matches the infringement type and platform |
Post Screenshot Is Missing | No screenshot of the infringing content is attached | Select the post or posts and click Recrawl post, or use the Cyborg extension |
Post Seller Name Is Missing | The seller or account name wasn't captured | Add it in the post details, then refresh the page |
Post Site Code Is Missing | No site code is selected for the post | Select the right site code on the post, then refresh the page |
Post Site Codes 4.1, 4.2, and 4.3 Are Not Enforceable for eBay | eBay doesn't accept the selected site code | Choose a site code eBay accepts; if none apply, the post can't be enforced on eBay for now |
Platform Credentials Missing | Your login or access details for the platform aren't set up | Add or update them in Settings → Enforce → Platform Credentials |
Website does not have a country code assigned | The domain has no estimated country | Select a country in the Geo (estimated) field, or choose Global if you're not sure |
Learn more: Enforcement Filter
3. Send and track notices
Every notice, whether it came from a person or an Auto-Enforcement rule, is sent and tracked in Notice View in the Enforcement section.
3.1 Reading Notice View
Notice ID: the notice's reference, such as
DRAFT#0000before it's sent andTN#0000after.Brand: the brand the notice is sent on behalf of.
Recipient: the platform, host or contact receiving the notice.
Removal Reason: the legal or policy basis, such as Counterfeit or Trademark Infringement.
Method: how the notice is delivered: Email, API, IP Portal or Webform.
System: Automatic if Zeal sends the notice to the platform for you, or Manual if you file it on the platform yourself.
3.2 Reviewing a draft
Click a Draft ID to check what will be sent before it goes. The draft includes the supporting documents: business licences, POA/LOA, IP Certificates, screenshots of the infringing pages and a spreadsheet listing every item.
3.3 Sending a notice
How you send depends on the notice's System.
Automatic notices: Zeal delivers these to the platform for you.
Open the notice and click Send Now, or select several notices and click Send Now to send them in bulk.
If Auto-Enforcement rules are set up, Zeal sends them as soon as they're created.
Manual notices: the platform has no direct integration with Zeal, such as some IP portals and webforms, so you file the report yourself.
Open the draft and click its form or link to go to the platform's reporting page.
Complete the takedown request on the platform, using the documents in the draft.
Back in Zeal, click Mark as Sent on the notice, or select several and click Send Now to log them in bulk.
Either way, the notice moves from Queued to In Progress, its items get the TRS (Takedown Request Sent) tag, and Zeal starts checking whether they've come down.
Important: For a manual notice, only click Mark as Sent once you've filed the report on the platform. Otherwise Zeal tracks a takedown that was never requested.
3.4 Tracking a notice in progress
Click a Notice ID under In Progress to follow up:
Batch size: [Confirm: the number of items in the notice, or the number already taken down].
Notice thread: reply to the recipient to handle pushback or follow-ups. Email notices only.
Items in Notice: each item's current status, Active or Down.
Each month, notices move from In Progress to Processed for reporting. A processed notice can still contain items that are online and need re-enforcing.
3.5 Re-enforcing items still online
Go to Enforcement → In Progress and open the notice.
Scroll to Items in Notice and select the items that are still up.
Click Re-Enforce and follow the same steps as before.
You can also open an item from its Post ID in a new tab and click Re-Enforce there. Re-enforced items get the RTRS tag.
Learn more: Enforcement (Notice View) · Takedown Status Filter
4. Enforcing websites and webpages
Websites and webpages have no marketplace to report to, so notices go to the people behind the site, such as the registrant, registrar, host or DNS provider.
Website enforcement is currently available for Counterfeit, Trademark Abuse, Design Rights, Copyright Abuse, Unauthorized Sales, Impersonation and Phishing. Notices are sent by email only for now.
Before you click Enforce:
On the Review tab, make sure Estimated Geography is filled in. Zeal uses it to attach the right IP document; without it, you'll get a validation error.
Open the Domain Data tab to check the registrar, registrant, hosting provider and DNS contacts. If any are missing, you can add them in the draft.
To enforce:
Click Enforce, select who to send the notice to (for example, the registrant) and click Enforce again. If there are no validation errors, a draft appears in the Queue.
Open the draft. If Zeal found the registrant's details, the recipient name, email and message are filled in. If not, click the pencil icon, add the recipient's name and email, and check the message uses the right name.
Click Send Now. The notice moves from Queued to In Progress.
To re-enforce a website:
Open the item: domains open in Website View, websites and webpages in Post View. Click the ID to open it in a new tab, then click Re-Enforce.
The registrant from the first notice is already selected. Choose the other parties you want to contact, such as the registrar, hosting provider or DNS provider.
Click Enforce. Zeal creates a separate draft for each party in the Queue tab of Notice View.
5. Escalating website enforcement
Sending the same notice through the same channel again rarely changes the outcome, so escalate to a new party instead.
Only follow up when a different enforcement route becomes available (such as a new webform or abuse contact) or you're moving to the next party in the list below. After each notice, allow 2–3 days for the site to be removed before checking and moving on. Contact each party once:
Order | Who to contact | Wait before the next step |
1 | Registrant | 2–3 days |
2 | Hosting provider or CDN | 2–3 days |
3 | DNS provider | 2–3 days |
4 | SSL certificate authority | 2–3 days |
5 | Payment or e-commerce provider | 2–3 days |
6 | Search engine (delisting) | 2–3 days |
7 | Corsearch Website Enforcement Team | – |
Tip: If you manage enforcement yourself, this order is a recommendation, not a rule. For urgent cases you can send notices to several parties at once, such as the registrant, host and DNS provider.
Delisting, suspension and hosting takedowns
These are often confused, but they have very different results:
Action | Sent to | Result |
Delisting | A search engine | The pages disappear from search results, but the site still loads if someone types the address |
Domain suspension | The registrar | The domain stops working entirely |
Hosting takedown | The hosting provider or CDN | The content is removed from the server |
Delisting works on pages, not domains: it removes specific URLs, such as
solene-outlet-sale.com/bags, from search results. It's about cutting off traffic: most buyers never find a site that isn't in search results.Delisting a whole domain: possible when the entire site is dedicated to infringement. Corsearch reports every indexed page on the domain to remove it from search results completely.
Parked domains: a domain showing only a blank or ad page has nothing to delist. Domains like these are recovered or suspended through legal processes such as the UDRP (Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy).
Learn more: Websites · Takedown Status Filter
6. Can't find the Enforce button?
If Enforce doesn't appear on a post or account, the website it's on hasn't been added to your enforceable domains yet. For example, a post on ebay.at won't show Enforce until ebay.at is added.
Go to Settings → Enforce Domains.
Add the domain, including every country version you need (for example, ebay.at as well as ebay.de).
If Enforce still doesn't appear after adding the domain, contact your Brand Partner.
Learn more: List of Enforceable Domains (Manual & Automated)
Quick reference
If you want to… | Look at… |
Know which enforce button to use | 1. Mark items for enforcement |
Find out why an item isn't in the queue | 2. Fix validation errors |
Send a notice Zeal can't deliver for you | 3.3 Sending a notice (manual notices) |
Follow up on an item that's still online | 3.5 Re-enforcing items still online |
Take down a website | 4. Enforcing websites and webpages |
Decide who to contact next about a website | 5. Escalating website enforcement |
Fix a missing Enforce button | 6. Can't find the Enforce button? |
Understand manual vs automatic enforcement |