IMAGES STOLEN ON WALMART ALI EXPRESS & 4 SITES ! VIOLATES CREATIVITY STANDARD!

[laosborn]

I am at a complete loss and after 11 years find myself in a forum confused by new etsy standards?  My designs and photos have yeah routinely been stolen and copied and sure we all deal with it!  Sure I thought never me.  Well here I am, it is me.  I have reached out to ETSY with questions get a routine email saying read our creativity standards and yes ETSY I can READ and I follow the standards after 11 years and 25 years making a jewelry business and selling into big box stores oh and manufacturing jewelry in the USA I know how to not import from ALI EXPRESS and resell on your platform.   

No explanation given .... my guess about 6-7 sites have stolen the image and they think I resell or the image are not mine?  Any thoughts community?

 I filed IP report on the link and no help .....

I sent images reached out to legal ...... no help

Trust and safety ..... yes nothing 

customers service ..... live person ..... nothing sorry cannot help???

What do I do scrap a 6 figure shop and consult people on how to successfully fail on ETSY?

OH the best part 100% shipping 100% communication and 4.9 star review GONE STAR SELLER BADGE GONE!!!  YES JUST LIKE THAT BYE BYE BYE 

[VintageRescueSquad]

But did you specifically file DMCA takedowns to those sites? Save a copy of them and send them to etsy. 

[laosborn]

There are so many sites. I wrote to them directly.  They immediately removed. I reached out to Walmart.  

[CraftyCornishMaids]

if you - guess it's 6-7 sites, how did you know where to go?, and what person/shop to report

you have to report the image from the shop on the site that stole it,
the link of the photo they have posted, and report that image, in that shop, to that site, with your information.

you have to file dcma takedowns - copyright - you need to use the sites portals where the images are, and some have IP - Trademark - as default, you have to click to change it to DCMA.

so you shouldn't be guessing, you have to know, and report the actual photo that is on that stite, and the shop/person that is using the actual one you found that was stolen.

these are some sites

aliexpress/alibaba

https://ipp.aidcgroup.net/#/ippHome

shein

https://m.shein.com/us/copyright-noticeam-a-379.html?lang=us

temu

https://www.temu.com/uk/intellectual-property-policy.html

.....

It is your IP, you have to protect it

there are companies that you can hire, and pay a monthly fee to, who you can engage to do it for you.

[CustomPortraitArt]

@CraftyCornishMaids, the problem is that many of the stealing sites require you to fill out their form to send a DMCA takedown notice, requiring you to give them all kinds of personal information: phone number, mailing address, email, your website address, your selling sites, etc.  I think they are trolling for our info, then when you click enter, the screen just goes away.

[CraftyCornishMaids]

I've done all 3 above, they all work

[laosborn]

I guess I will have to hire a company, my images are all over the internet on sites mixed into listings on Ali, Walmart, Temu.  I was just not aware this was happening.

[BlushandRosie]

@laosborn  Someone linked one they use here a few weeks back in a post.

Forgot the name and I didnt save the site link...

Maybe they will see this post! LOL

[ChantillyAvenue]

@laosborn 
There is also this: https://www.iprcenter.gov/ip-protect

[CostumeCoutureNaomi]

@CustomPortraitArt 

I agree.

Those sites like Shein and Temu primary purpose is data and identity mining.

It is a catch 22 to file a DCMA with them given that they exist to steal private information. 

There needs to be a better way to fight their intellectual property theft.

[StonesAndLeatherUS]

It looks like you are a 5 figure shop, not 6. Also unless you have a hard copy of a copyright and it has been filed, there is really nothing you can do against these big companies. You can also talk to attorney if you feel that strongly about it. Did you actually make the charms, being your own designs? Did you actually make the bracelets from total scrap and forge them? If you do have all the jewelry hard copy copyrighted then you will probably need to show that with the DMCA take down applications.

[laosborn]

@stonesandleatherUS to answer Yes and taken from ETSY policy: 

Items ‘made by a seller’ include only:

• Hand assembled items: Commercially available supplies or components that a seller attached together or combined by hand to create a unique end-product.
  • E.g. Using jewelry-making tools to attach charms to a necklace chain; sewing patches onto a denim jacket

YES I DO THIS

[PrairiePrimitives]

@laosborn You need to get your images removed from the other sites. Filing a DMCA with the seller and/or site and/or web hosting company should do it. Save proof of this so Etsy can see you've done it. 

[CustomPortraitArt]

That is impossible, @PrairiePrimitives.  I recently had lunch with a person who worked for the Trademarks department and he confirmed there is no way for them to enforce TMs in foreign countries, and assumed copyright enforcement was the same.

[laosborn]

I am trying but I am finding that many of my listings are on many sites.  I have put my shop on vacation mode until I can upload photos into pixsy.

[PrairiePrimitives]

@CustomPortraitArt So you're saying the Berne Convention isn't a real thing?

[digitaldoodlebug]

Legit websites have procedures in place to either accept DMCA or they have a similar setup that you can file takedowns. Of course scam websites won't as they aren't following the law anyway. The big main ones listed do. I have had listings removed from alibaba and aliexpress that were using and reproducing my photo/item. They even deny the sellers counterclaim. (which if that happened on etsy you would have to take the seller to court)

If it's a scam website or a small site in another language and you can't find a way to file a DMCA then you can report it through google and they will remove it from their searches. 

[cindylouwho2]

It's best not to take legal advice from people who think what they "assume" is valid LOL

As someone who has helped sellers police their IP elsewhere for well over a decade, it is absolutely possible to get copyrighted material removed from legitimate sites. 

[laosborn]

I want to apologize for mentioning specific numbers; I was upset, and while money is not the primary concern, the years of hard work, customer kindness, and cherished memories feel lost. I realize that anyone can access a shop's sales data, reviews, and star ratings, especially with tools like Everbee and Etsy Rank. This transparency allows anyone to assess a shop's performance.

I pride myself on being transparent and helpful, as I personally handcraft each design. From cutting chain to hand-wrapping pearls, the process requires skill, time, and dedication. I'm not looking to compete; I was simply sharing that in my 25 years as a businessperson and designer, I’ve learned that hard work and earnings can vanish in an instant. I’ve even had designs in big box stores, so this loss is particularly disheartening, but I know I can't fight against Etsy's system. I plan to transition to my Shopify store and perhaps sell off leftover inventory on eBay.

I wish Etsy had better resources to support sellers. Until AI can address these issues, I fear that many of us may face similar challenges. Like many others, I believed I was safe from violations; I’ve kept my head down, focused on creating, and I stay informed about policies. It’s tough to see these forums filled with frustrations, but I’ve been in this industry long enough to know it can be unpredictable.

I understand the desire for Etsy to return to what it once was. While my designs may not be as unique as those of some artisans, I can hand forge raw metal and solder. Yet, many designs on Etsy are strikingly similar to mine. As for your question about copyright, I’ve previously trademarked and copyrighted my work, but pursuing infringements, especially overseas, often proves costly for small businesses.

Ultimately, the real frustration stems from Etsy not adequately protecting its sellers and relying on automated systems that shut down accounts. Perhaps Etsy should consider requiring sellers to trademark their businesses, similar to Amazon Handmade, to ensure better protection on the platform.

[CraftyCornishMaids]

@laosborn 

You have to protect your IP

It is not etsy's job.

If someone steals your photos, they are doing it to steal your customers, and your income.

It won't be any different on shopify, they will just steal your customers with those pictures too.

I have been issuing takedowns for many years, we all should, it's not a new thing.

The new thing is etsy is now using AI, to address these issues, like you think it should, 
and as etsy wants unique, if you let your photos be stolen, it doesn't look unique any more, and etsy loses sales ...and they don't like it.

[CanningCrafts]

"if you let your photos be stolen"  that's an odd way to phrase it. No one let's their photos be stolen. There's no way to prevent it & we all know it takes endless hours to police the internet & do takedowns. Yes, it is the IP owners responsibility. But that fact that legit sellers aren't even getting to appeal sometimes now is rotten.

In the not too distant past, sellers used to defend Etsy NOT removing items from the site saying that were protected due to Safe Harbor Status. And now Etsy is removing items en masse (which shows they could've done so all along). But they aren't handling the collateral damage very well.

[ArtDollsbyJD]

These are photos that were taken?  For those you can issue a DMCA on the various sites.

However for actual copyright of items that is far more difficult to do.  While creation is covered from the moment of creation not everything can be registered for copyright protection.  Jewelry is very difficult.  If you are talking about your creations then I suggest contacting an IP specialist and/or the Copyright office to see if your items can be registered,

Trademarking is not the same as copyright.  Two different areas with different protection.  Do not confuse the two or even with patent.

Try your local business group to see if you can get some advice on how to handle this.  Photos are easy but copyright on items is not always easy. 

[CustomPortraitArt]

I had this happen to me several months ago.  I got it resolved by posting it here, keeping the post near the top, and daily responding to the email even though they told me case closed don't bother anymore or some such thing.

I wasn't required to show DMCA notices and specifically asked then if I needed to.

Others apparently have, since that suggestion keeps showing here. But I didn't.

[laosborn]

Thank you for your response. I truly don’t want to start over. As a jewelry-making grandma, I’m just enjoying the process on Etsy, creating and embracing all this wonderful creativity!

[laosborn]

I hope a moderator reads this and provides some help. So far, the responses I’ve received feel like generic, copy-and-paste replies without any real thought. I understand the challenges, but don't roll out ai if you can't handle cause and effect.