Taylor Swift’s popularity has led to an increase in unofficial merchandise, but Etsy sellers are facing challenges, with some items being taken down and orders being canceled.
This is due to copyright and trademark infringement issues.
Swift has filed numerous trademark applications, and creators need to be cautious when using her name, image, or likeness.
All’s fair in love and poetry… New album THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT. Out April 19 🤍https://t.co/WdrCmvLHyA
📷: Beth Garrabrant pic.twitter.com/CCPhmSZ2UD
— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) February 5, 2024
“I want to buy an ornament from Etsy, but I’ve heard Taylor is closing shops,” commented one user.
“I don’t want to order something only to have the shop disappear. Has anyone had any issues or heard this rumor?” they asked.
“Ugh, yes, I have had multiple orders cancel or not show,” wrote another user.
“I had to open a case with Etsy to get a refund with one of them. It’s such a bummer, especially because Etsy is the only place I can find things in actual child sizes. I wonder who is the actual driving force — Etsy, or Taylor’s team?” asked the user.
“Yes, it’s true. I was lucky enough to only have a listing taken down [of her most popular item], but some are getting completely shut down,” another user lamented.
Mark Siegmund, a Central Texas-based attorney, said, “Copyright is essentially a bundle of rights given to an author of a work that allows them to control, protect it and exploit their artistic works.”
“And it only has to be a couple of things in order to be a protectable copyright. It has to be original and, in some sense, it has to be fixed, meaning not purely ethereal,” explained Siegmund.
“When you have a copyright, you have a lot of different rights,” added the attorney.
“You have the right to reproduce it, make derivative works of that copyright, distribute copies of that, and then, obviously, to keep others from doing it,” he explained.
There is a suggestion for Swift to open her own Etsy, and she has recently filed to trademark the phrase “TAYLOR-CON.”
Read Also:
Nikki Haley Admits Why She Feels ‘Stupid’ On Campaign Trail
Hot Mic Slip Exposes MSNBC Host’s True Views On Biden
