Seeking guidance on repeated IP copying & review manipulation by another Partner

Partner Discussions
1

I’ve filed two Partner Report submissions regarding a specific partner with little to no effect. Although the tickets show as handled, the underlying partner behavior persists. Here’s the timeline:

1) Direct app clone

  • They launched an app that copied our UI and lifted a significant amount of UI/instructional text verbatim.
  • I filed a copyright-infringement report. They tweaked a few sentences and the app was reinstated with no visible consequences.

2) Retaliatory fake review on our app - Second Partner Report filed here (review manipulation, Partner Agreement C2.1)

  • The same partner controls Store X, which previously used our app.
  • Store X left a 1-star review on our listing immediately after the infringement report.
  • I have older support emails from Store X using the same domain as the partner account, showing a connection. (Shopify blocked the review - thank you.)
  • Support later marked my report as “handled,” but there’s been no visible action on the partner.

3) Suspicious review activity on their own app (i.e. suspected paid reviews)

  • Their app launched at the start of the year and had zero reviews for ~6 months.
  • In the last two weeks they jumped from 0 → 18 reviews; 12 are already archived as obviously fake.
  • For comparison, we serve ~2,000 merchants and average ~10 reviews every six months.

What I’m looking for

  • When Partner Reports seem to have no effect on the Partner’s behavior, what’s the recommended escalation path?
  • Should I keep submitting separate reports for each incident, or is there a better way to bundle evidence so it actually gets traction?
  • Practically, how should I respond to continued behavior from the same offender while staying within policy - ignore and document only, or is there a recommended way to engage (or not) that won’t backfire?
2

I’m really sorry to hear this happened to you @jsk

As a fellow app dev, I know how much time, effort and sacrifice you make to launch and grow a Shopify app.

To have another app shamelessly steal your brand, functionality and listing outright is so frustrating.

I’m glad that Shopify identified the fake retaliatory review, that’s a good sign.

I have also filed Partner reports in the past and have seen no results. The queue might be backed up, since each report probably takes a significant amount of time.

I just wish there was more feedback than just the initial submission, then from my experience just radio silence.

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