Frequently Asked Questions


What is Circumvention?

Circumvention occurs when a product or service is designed to break a barrier put in place to control access to a copyrighted work. For example, a website that has a serial key generator for copyrighted software might be providing a circumvention service.

Who can file a circumvention request?

A circumvention request can only be filed by the rights holder, their authorized representative, or a licensed vendor of the copyrighted material in question.


What are counterfeit goods?

Counterfeit goods mimic the brand features of a product in an attempt to pass themselves off as a genuine product of the brand owner.

How does Google respond to sites with possibly counterfeit content?

As part of our terms of service, we may take action on individual Google accounts that allegedly provide or promote counterfeit goods. To file a counterfeit notice, please refer to the service-specific troubleshooter.

Court Orders

Does Google accept third party court orders?

If a court has ruled that web pages in Google’s search results or content on a Google service is unlawful, you can submit the order through our troubleshooter for our review. Please note that we only accept valid court orders signed by a judge. We may voluntarily remove the content from our services if provided with specific URLs and if the terms of the court order indicate the content violates the law.

How do I send Google a copy of an order?

To submit a copy of a valid court order through our troubleshooter, please start by selecting the service where the content appears. For example, you would select "Web Search" if the webpage is linked from Google’s search results. Then, select the option: “I have a court order declaring certain content unlawful.”

Once you have reached the appropriate webform, we ask you to provide the following information:

  • a copy of the court order,
  • the URL for each web page that contains the allegedly infringing content,
  • the exact text or content from each URL that violates the terms of the order, and
  • the specific section or page of the court order that mandates the removal of these webpages.

What if the court order names Google?

We use this troubleshooter to receive and review court orders against third parties who have posted allegedly unlawful content. If your court order is directed at Google, please don't submit the order through the troubleshooter -- we do not accept service of process this way.

Please note, in an effort to remain transparent, a copy of each legal notice we receive may also be sent to the third-party organization, Lumen, for publication. Your letter to us may be displayed in Google’s search results or on the Google webpage in place of the removed content (your name will remain, but Lumen redacts personal contact information). You can see an example of a published legal notice here.