ad: Annual 2024 Now Open For Entries!
*

Etsy suffers the wrath of T-Swift

Published by

Whilst she might come across as all sweetness and light in her music videos and on her seemingly unending, globe-trotting adventures, pop-star of the moment Taylor Swift certainly has a nasty side (or at least her representatives do). It was discovered over the weekend that lawyers acting on behalf of the country music star turned raunchy pop diva had been cracking down on the sale of unlicensed Swift merchandise on the online marketplace Etsy. The site, which houses 1.2 million independent online shops, has been struck with a barrage of cease and desist orders from Swift's lawyers, who insist the harmless craft items are an affront to the singer's rapidly growing empire.

Lawyers acting on behalf of the Taylor Swift have been cracking down on the sale of unlicensed Swift merchandise on Etsy

*

Swift's sizeable estate currently boasts 121 registered trademarks, and is looking to completely stamp out unauthorised clobber, at least if it's available online. One Etsy store owner, who didn't even feature the singer's visage on her products, just her song lyrics, said she was shocked when she received her cease and desist letter. She said that when she got the e-mail, she was “Pretty shocked because while the item was popular,” she didn’t feel as if it had “Become popular enough to cause harm to Taylor Swift’s empire.” She added that it was simply a “Harmless and fun idea” that she barely made any money out of.

Etsy issued a statement that didn't reference the case directly

*

Etsy, meanwhile, issued a statement that didn't reference the case directly. In fact, all it really did was reinforce its terms and conditions. It simply states; “When a seller opens a shop and lists an item on Etsy, they are agreeing to our terms of use, including trademark guidelines, and copyright and IP policy. We take intellectual property and copyright concerns very seriously, and we comply with the DMCA and remove items when we have proper notice. When we are notified about allegedly infringing material, we act swiftly and in compliance with our policy.”

Topshop was served a £1.5 million legal bill after the chain's parent firm lost an appeal against a ban on shirts featuring the face of Rihanna

*

The news comes just days after the high street retailer Topshop was served a £1.5 million legal bill after the chain's parent firm, the Arcadia Group, lost an appeal against a ban on shirts featuring the face of R&B singer Rihanna. The Barbadian diva is reportedly seeking a further £3.5 million in damages and profits made through sales of the shirts, which her camp featured an image taken from one of her music videos without her permission. A total of 12,000 of the shirts were produced and retailed at £22, and taking into account they were eventually reduced to clear stock, it's unlikely they made any more than £200,000 in total. As such, the hefty legal bill seems ludicrous, but then, this is show business after all!

Comments

More Leaders

*

Leaders

Inspiring Female Leaders: An Interview with RAPP CEO Gabrielle Ludzker

Gabrielle Ludzker is not just any CEO. The current head honcho at customer experience agency RAPP has spent her career breaking away from the traditional corporate CEO stereotype. and leads to inspire rule breakers. Gabby is an inspirational rule...

Posted by: Benjamin Hiorns
ad: Annual 2024 Now Open For Entries!