3 mins

How to report intellectual property infringements on Etsy

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Last updated on: July 18, 2022

Has someone stolen your designs? Are they copying your branding, or using your art? These are all common copyright, trademark and intellectual property infringements that we’re familiar with at Red Points, so we’re here to help.

Just follow our simple guide, and those infringing listings on Etsy can be taken down, and you can return to doing what you love!

Step 1: Copyright or trademark? What to report?

First things first, you’ll want to have all the important details ready, and this depends on what intellectual property right is being infringed.

Etsy Copyright infringement

Etsy Trademark infringement, or counterfeit products

Trademarks are used for anything that identifies a brand or business, such as names, symbols, images, slogans, etc. Counterfeits are imitations of legitimate products and are intended to deceive customers into thinking the item is authentic

Patent infringement

Patents protect inventions, innovative designs and functions, and machines.

Need more clarification? Etsy has a dedicated intellectual property section on their site, full of legal information to make your experience simpler, found at https://www.etsy.com/legal/ip.

Learn how we can take down infringements on Etsy for you

Step 2: Preparing your Etsy intellectual property infringement report information

So, now that you know what’s being infringed, we can move on to the next stage. Here, we’ll tell you what information you should have ready before you actually file your intellectual property infringement report on Etsy.

Remember, you can keep adding cases of infringement to your report if someone’s copied a number of your products, but if you want to report different types of infringements, you should file separate cases.

Information pertaining to all cases

Owner of the IP (contact info, address, and personal details)
Any relevant educational materials (optional)
Links to the Etsy pages infringing upon your work, or the Etsy listing ID

Information needed, separated by type of infringement

Etsy Copyright Infringement

Name or title of the copyrighted work
Online examples of the copyrighted work (prepare some URLs)
Where the copyright is registered
The registration Number

Etsy Trademark Infringement or counterfeit

The trademark
The registration number
The jurisdiction of the trademark
Classes of trademark

If you’re still waiting for a trademark application

The application or serial number
The jurisdiction of the trademark application
Classes of trademark
Legal basis for the claim of trademark rights
First year the trademark was used
Where the trademark is used

Trademark (unregistered, but with the basis for rights)

The legal basis for the claim of trademark rights
First year the trademark was used
Where the trademark is used

Patent

The patent registration number
The jurisdiction of the patent

Unregistered patents can’t be defended on Etsy. To defend your intellectual property, get your patent registered as soon as possible!

Another type of infringement

Intellectual property being infringed
The legal basis for the claim

Step 3: File your Etsy intellectual property infringement claim

If you’ve prepared all your information, this next part is a breeze.

Simply go to the reporting page at: https://www.etsy.com/legal/ip/report. You will arrive at a page shown in the image below.

Fill in the boxes, follow the steps, and click submit.

The Etsy legal team will review your case, and if all goes well, your IP rights will be protected. If, after 3 working days, you’ve received no confirmation, try filing the intellectual property infringement report a second time.

What now?

Ideally, you’ll never see a counterfeit on Etsy again! But, things aren’t ever that simple. You can report sellers on Etsy and report fake sellers as well as copyright and trademark infringement one by one, but it’s a slow, inefficient process, and your counterfeit issue may be far deeper than you even realise. For a full, long-term solution to your counterfeit issues, or for any other issues you may be having, get in contact with us at contact@redpoints.com. We are experts in brand protection, and we’ll be happy to help put an end to your Etsy intellectual property, copyright and trademark infringements.

Counterfeiters rarely stick to a single platform. For further help, we have more guides to offer:

Red Points’ legal disclaimer.

The contents of this publication do not necessarily reflect the position or opinion of Red Points. The services of the Red Points Blog are not of a legal or advisory nature and no responsibility is accepted for the results of any actions made on the basis of its services. Before taking specific actions in relation to Etsy intellectual property protection or enforcement all customers are advised to seek independent legal advice.