Email a copy of 'What to Do If a Brand Pulls Your Item from Etsy?' to a friend
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Ina Steiner is co-founder and Editor of EcommerceBytes and has been reporting on ecommerce since 1999. She's a widely cited authority on marketplace selling and is author of "Turn eBay Data Into Dollars" (McGraw-Hill 2006). Her blog was featured in the book, "Blogging Heroes" (Wiley 2008). She is a member of the Online News Association (Sep 2005 - present) and Investigative Reporters and Editors (Mar 2006 - present). Follow her on Twitter at @ecommercebytes and send news tips to ina@ecommercebytes.com. See disclosure at EcommerceBytes.com/disclosure/.
My shop got caught up in one of those sweeps. It was for a brand name and product type that we do not even carry. The “net” that was cast included KAW although the company name is KAWS. Our artwork was for a travel post to Kaw Point, a National Historic site in Kansas. The National Park Service owns the name Kaw Point, not this company. I contacted the party listed in the take down email and they cleared it up for me. It took a bit of work, but the take down was not justified. I was able to relist the item.
However, Etsy’s response to me to inform me that IP claim against me was recinded, was rather obnoxious. The overall tone was that I was lucky this time, and my account would not be penalized as long as there are no other outstanding IP claims against me. I never intentionally infringe. This claim was bogus, and I should have been offered an apology instead of implying that my business model is ripping off others IP.
My advise to anyone selling in an online marketplace – find a really good business attorney. Establish a relationship with them. When you do get an IP claim, or if you need to file one, it is better to have a phone number handy with a person who knows you than it is to start searching. Sometimes an email or letter in legal speak is very convincing.