Etsy is known for selling handmade items created by a variety of designers, makers, and artists. These products are often one-of-a-kind, unfortunately, making them an easy target for infringers looking for ideas to steal and copy. But don’t worry. If you find yourself the victim of intellectual property infringement (IP) on Etsy, there is a simple process to report and remove copycat listings.
Etsy’s intellectual property policy provides more information on how they address infringement allegations and how IP owners, or representatives, can submit notices of infringement. We have outlined below, the exact steps that you should take to alert Etsy to any infringements that you find.
Submitting a Notice of Infringement
On their website, Etsy provides a Reporting Form where you can make a notice of claimed infringement under the DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) designated agent. This form is the fastest way to report an IP issue to Etsy. But be prepared, Etsy may request additional information from you before processing the notice. This may include identity verification of the reporting party or further documentation regarding the owned intellectual property.
Step 1: Who are you?
Once you have opened the reporting form, you will be presented with the following statement – choose which option applies to you.
You allege that content on Etsy violates intellectual property that:
- you own the rights to;
- a third party, company or organization owns the rights to;
- a company or organization that you represent owns the rights to;
- none of the above
You can only continue with the IP infringement report if you are the rights owner or if you are an authorised representative of that company.
Step 2: Your details
Once you have chosen your relationship to the IP, you can then begin to fill out the form.
Provide the following information:
- Intellectual Property Owner – usually the brand that is being infringed
- Your Name and Title
- Your Company
- Your Address
- An Email Address that Etsy will contact you on – make sure that you are happy for this to be given to the infringing seller
- Your Phone Number
Step 3: The Intellectual Property
Select the type of IP right that being infringed – you can find more information about the different type of rights here. Fill in who the IP owner is – this will either be your full name or the name of the organisation that you are authorized to represent.
At this point the questions will differ depending on which infringing IP right you chose.
If you selected Copyright, fill in the name or title of the copyrighted work, and select which type of work it closely resembles (e.g. design, video, image). Find anywhere that your work can be found online and include this in the form. This could be anything from your Instagram to your website. The best URLs will have a date to easily prove that you are the original creator of the work. If your work appears nowhere online, try and describe it in as much detail as you can. If the Copyright is registered, make sure to include the territories in which it is registered and its registration number.
If you selected Trademark, Counterfeit goods or Patent, the first question will ask you ‘What is the Trademark/Patent?’ – here you should include the word or name that the Trademark/Patent protects. If your trademark/patent is registered, select yes, and then add in the registration number and the territories it protects. For Trademarks, you should also include the classes it protects. This information can all be found on your IP certification. If your Trademark or Patent is not registered or is pending, you can try to use this form to remove fakes but it has a high likelihood of being rejected. If this is the case, get in touch and we can see if we can help.
Step 4: The Infringing Products or Listings
At this stage, you will be asked to provide all of the listings that you believe are infringing your intellectual property. There is the option to add these one at a time if you only have a few or to add multiple. All of the infringing products should appear in boxes on the page.
Step 5: Submit and Wait
Once you have popped in your URLs you will be asked to sign a declaration of good faith. Your electronic signature may be provided to the infringing seller.
What steps does Etsy take?
Following submitting your infringement form, Etsy is quick to remove or disable access to the allegedly infringing materials. However, Etsy makes a reasonable attempt to contact the affected persons, provide them with information about the notice and removal. In cases of alleged copyright infringement, Etsy provides information about how to submit a counter-notice. It is also possible that Etsy may give the affected member a copy of the infringement notice, including the name and email address of the reporting party
If this feels overwhelming to you, don’t worry – we can help. Our team of experienced and friendly brand protection experts is on hand to seamlessly defend and protect your brand online. Simply get in touch or request a demo today.
