Multiple Shopify merchants received DMCA takedown notices claiming they used unlicensed themes, resulting in their stores being taken offline without warning. The affected merchants report having legitimate purchase records—some bought themes directly from Shopify’s official store, others uploaded custom themes themselves.
Key Issues:
Stores were immediately suspended, but restoration takes 10-14 days even after providing proof of purchase
Notice emails often went to spam folders, giving merchants no opportunity to respond before shutdown
Merchants are experiencing significant financial losses (one reported ~$20K) while paying staff and losing customers during critical sales periods (e.g., Easter)
One theme developer allegedly offered expedited resolution for an additional fee
Possible Cause:
One user referenced Shopify leadership posts about “DMCA trolls”—bad actors filing vexatious copyright claims.
Resolution Timeline:
Merchants who provided purchase receipts reported restoration in 48 hours to 5 days. The discussion remains ongoing with some users still waiting for resolution, expressing frustration about the asymmetry: instant takedowns versus lengthy restoration processes.
Summarized with AI on October 30.
AI used: claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929.
We have got an email from Shopify Legal giving us the DMCA Takedown Notice (Snapshot attached to the bottom) on the bases, that we are not using a purchased license theme.
The theme has been purchased by us directly from Shopify (no third party involved) so needless to say that we have the transaction records, acknowledgement email from Shopify and of course the Invoice for the same.
We tried contacting Shopify support for the same and now they have asked to wait for 10-14 days for the store to be restored, even though they have acknowledged the purchase of the theme and all the other pre-requisites are in order.
We have a LIVE WEBSITE where, which has been taken down by some bunch of idiots without even investigating or looking into the facts.
This is our business from where we make our earning and this is the stupidity exercised by Shopify. Not only we are loosing customers and orders but paying my hired staff on daily basis for nothing. And now it seems that our business runs on their whims and fancies.
Can anyone tell us what shall we do? I mean shall we go legal since we are taking a huge toll for this or if there is something more to it? If anyone has/had the same chronicle?
I am in the same boat just saw email Nov 13th and now new notice 14th stating they took my store offline.
Absolutely insane, with no response time for us. But legal retains a 10 day response time to our evidence? This Improper Service of Notice in all 50 States.
My theme wasn’t even purchased from Shopify, so I don’t understand the violation, when they can clearly see the theme was uploaded by ME, onto the site and customized. Which I have attached to my email but now i have to wait 10 days for their response! I’m considering leaving this platform. How can a business have no phone number information when they are in the wrong and we as consumers need immediate support on matters like this!
Possible “DMCA Trolls” who initiate vexatious DMCA and IP Infringement claims in bad faith. More on that from the Shopify CEO as well as General Counsel on LinkedIn here and here.
I received the same notice but it went to spam. Shopify has harmed my business as well. I have been with shopify for 10 years with three websites. This Monday they shut down our main website. When I asked why, they told me that I did not pay for a theme. I asked them why they did not call me but only sent me an email that went directly into my spam folder. I then told them that I do not have a web designer in house and that I have paid web designers over the years to build websites for me so how would I know what theme is paid for or not. Anyway when they shut down my site I contacted them and when they told me that a theme was not paid for which was installed three years ago. I paid it right away and I sent them the receipt. Two days later my website is down! We have lost around $20K so far plus good well and worst of all we still do not know when it will be back up. I just received an email from the theme and they told me that they will try to get to my email ( receipt I sent them ) however if I paid them another fee they would expedite my situation. Since I am in the customer service business I know that this is not the way to treat your loyal customer of ten years. Thanks for letting me vent!
Did they answer back? Please provide an update. This is happening to me, and I’m wondering how long it will take for the Shopify Trust & Safety Team to restore the website. I just deleted everything and am waiting for this team to do something.
Thanks for your message.
Yes, they took about 48 hours and finally they removed it.
I understand it is a pain if you are doing everything legit. Shopify needs to work upon it big time however, be rest assure that they will remove it provided you have bought the theme directly from the Shopify store or from the developer of the theme (if that is feasible).
Just make sure to provide them with the proof of purchase and the receipt of purchase (if required), during your conversation with Shopify.
Let me know if there is anything else.
I received a DMCA notice on March 31st, but unfortunately, I didn’t see the notification at the time. On April 2nd, I started receiving messages from customers saying that the website wasn’t working, so I tried to figure out what was wrong and discovered the email. I primarily use the website for showcasing my business, as I have a physical bakery, and the main method of sales is through the physical store. During Christmas, Easter, and other holidays, the online platform becomes incredibly important, helping me achieve significant sales. As Easter is in just 15 days, I heavily rely on this website. In that moment of panic, I ended up deleting everything—every theme—even though some were purchased directly by me. I haven’t received any response to this day. I contact customer support daily, and they tell me the same thing: that my request is there, and I just need to wait. Shopify markets itself as a platform for beginners. The fact that not everyone understands how the themes work doesn’t mean we intend to harm anyone. The most frustrating part is that they instantly took the website down, but when it comes to responding, we are left waiting for a long time.
“The most frustrating part is that they instantly took the website down, but when it comes to responding, we are left waiting for a long time”. I couldn’t agree more with this.
In our case it took about 4-5 days for them to remove the ban from our website. Did you buy the theme directly form the developer? What is the name of your theme anyways? Is your store based out the of the US? How much did you pay for the theme? Do you have the Invoice/ Receipt for the same?
