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chipperi

Grrr Greedy M#@$ F#%$

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Sorry guys just venting....Got one of my listings and best sellers pulled from Etsy for Trademark.....What!!! it was 2 words from a movie...not a title, not an image...just 2 words.  I think I will trademark the word "the" or "or" how about "A" that way no one can write a book or talk without paying me licensing fees. :angry:

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Etsy is hardcore they will pull your listings even if your tags have names of trademarks. Im almost ready to leave etsy cause anyone can cry to them and they will listen if it legit or not. Etsy leagal does not research the claims.

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Unfortunately this one was legit....they gave me the name of the lawfirm who complained.....I wrote the author to see how much licensing would cost...but it's probably priced to keep small businesses out.

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Competition on there is also worse than ebay. They will browse your listings and report your listing to the trademark holder. And etsy shuts down shops forever after 3 strikes. You have 2 left.

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Actually it is more work to do an Etsy claim against a seller..  You have to mail everything in, with your proof, and their ads, to their offices in New York, and sign a penalty for perjury affidavit...I went thru that with a seller on Etsy, who was also a  UScutter forum member... who got booted from here.( ;D  ;D  ;D )   And I think Karma is still biting him in the A$$!!  :police:

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Competition on there is also worse than ebay. They will browse your listings and report your listing to the trademark holder. And etsy shuts down shops forever after 3 strikes. You have 2 left.

 

I just did a search and there are hundreds of sellers selling virtually the same decals.

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Ive learned on Etsy to only sell off the wall stuff that nobody would bother claiming.

Like" I scratch my butt when I sleep."

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Unfortunately this one was legit....they gave me the name of the lawfirm who complained.....I wrote the author to see how much licensing would cost...but it's probably priced to keep small businesses out.

Now heres a strange response :

Dear xxxx,Thank you for your email.  I am afraid that we are unable to progress any licensing in the US for Fifty Shades as a result of trade mark issues.Kind regards,xxxxxxxxx.

 

The author cant license her own work?:huh:? Trademark issues she should hold the trademark??? No sense at all!

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If you really want to chase that rabbit then you may want to find out who actually owns the copyright / trademark for your decal. 

 

Best advice for Etsy stay OFF of the forums and stay AWAY from the teams same goes for eBay. That's where the traffic came from that caused me issues and like others have said all they have to do is claim it's their work to get your item nixed. 

 

Personally I would let it go. 

 

Now heres a strange response :
Dear xxxx,Thank you for your email.  I am afraid that we are unable to progress any licensing in the US for Fifty Shades as a result of trade mark issues.Kind regards,xxxxxxxxx.

 

The author cant license her own work? :huh:? Trademark issues she should hold the trademark??? No sense at all!

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Being new to all this, I can see I have some excitement ahead of me. If I wanted to sell some T shirts or decals on Flee Bay what is legal?  Can I sell stuff like is in our mature section? Or will people be biting my butt on that too?  Thanks

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What I do now when I come up with a idea is to search the database for the trademark. Then I google the words to see if a website is named the same thing or what results come up.  Then I search etsy and ebay to see if a seller has that name for thier stores or specializes in that idea. If you cannot find info on it then you prob wont have an issue.  and ive noticed most most things youve heard in life hasbeen spoken for. Which is why you need to come up with off the wall ideas that mean the same thing as something more popular.     And phrases and words are the only issues ive had. Pictures of things as long as its not a logo seem to be ok.

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This is kind of an interesting read: http://janefriedman.com/2013/07/15/the-fair-use-doctrine/

 

It's geared more towards writers but seems pretty universal.

 

Apparently it's written by a copyright attorney. There's a few times he clearly states that "short phrases" are not copyrightable (until one of his comment replies seems a bit contradicting).

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