Latest / The Modern Etsy Seller Podcast / 49. How to Keep Your Etsy Shop From Getting Shut Down: IP, Trademarks & Etsy Rules You Need to Know

Transcript

49. How to Keep Your Etsy Shop From Getting Shut Down: IP, Trademarks & Etsy Rules You Need to Know · The Modern Etsy Seller Podcast

• 0:05
  SPEAKER_00: Hey there and welcome to the Modern Etsy Seller, the podcast where busy women build, grow, and profit on Etsy.
• 0:11
  SPEAKER_00: I'm your host, Melissa Carroll, a full-time teacher, a busy mom, and an Etsy seller who's built two successful Etsy shops in the small moments of everyday life.
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_00: Here you'll find simple strategies, real behind-the-scenes insight, and the clarity you need to stop second guessing and start moving forward one intentional step at a time.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_00: Let's get to it.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_00: Hey guys, welcome back.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_00: Today we're gonna talk about something that every Etsy seller needs to understand.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_00: And that is how to protect the shop that you are building.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_00: We spend a lot of time talking about how to build and grow our shops, but as you're building your shop, you also need to understand the rules of the platform you're building it on.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_00: Etsy has policies around what you can sell, what you can use in the products you create, how you represent those products, and how you operate your shop.
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_00: And Etsy does have the ability to remove listings, suspend accounts, and in some circumstances, terminate selling privileges.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_00: So today I want to walk through some of the things you need to be aware of so that you're not unknowingly putting your shop at risk.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_00: And I want to start with and spend the most time on intellectual property because I think it's one of the areas where there's the most confusion for Etsy sellers, especially when it comes to print on demand.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_00: And before we get into this, I want to say that I'm not an attorney.
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_00: Nothing I'm sharing here should be considered legal advice.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_00: I'm just sharing this to help you understand some of the things you need to be aware of as an Etsy seller so that you don't get your shop shut down.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_00: But if you have a specific legal question about your business, you should obviously talk to a lawyer.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, then let me explain what intellectual property is.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_00: Intellectual property, which you will also hear referred to as IP, is basically something that someone created from their minds, or they own the right to it.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_00: Something like a design, an image, a book, a character, a company name or a brand name, a logo, um, a tagline.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_00: Underneath the intellectual property umbrella, there are a few different categories, but the two most relevant to us as Etsy sellers are copyright and trademark.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_00: Copyright protects things people create.
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_00: For example, artwork and designs, photographs, books, and music.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_00: Trademarks protect things connected to a brand or a business.
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_00: So a business can trademark its name, logo, and sometimes words or phrases.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_00: And the reason understanding IP matters when I'm talking about protecting your Etsy shop is that you can't use someone else's intellectual property on the products that you sell.
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_00: If the rights owner believes that you're using their intellectual property without permission, they can report that listing to Etsy and repeated infringement reports can ultimately put your selling privileges at risk.
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_00: I don't want this to sound like the only reason, though, that you shouldn't use someone else's intellectual property is because you could get caught or lose your shop.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_00: If someone else created something or owns the rights to it, we don't have the right to use it to make money simply because we can.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_00: As business owners, we need to respect the work and intellectual property of other people and businesses.
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, so let's start with some examples where it's pretty obvious that we're dealing with someone else's intellectual property.
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_00: Disney is probably the easiest one.
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_00: Most of us are well aware that Disney owns the rights to its characters.
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_00: So we can't just take Mickey Mouse, put him on a sweatshirt, and start selling it.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_00: But then you go on to Etsy and you search for Disney and you see thousands of products for sale.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_00: You'll see Mickey Mouse all over the place.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_00: Products referencing Disney movies and tons of matching family Disney vacation shirts.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_00: And some of the shops selling these products will have thousands of sales and reviews.
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_00: So it makes sense that a newer seller will look at that and think it must be okay.
• 4:08
  SPEAKER_00: If people aren't allowed to sell this stuff, why is there so much of it on Etsy?
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_00: But there are a couple of things to understand here.
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_00: First, some of those sellers may have permission to sell those products.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_00: Licensing exists, and businesses can pay for or otherwise obtain the rights to use someone else's intellectual property.
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_00: So when you see a Disney product on Etsy, it's possible that seller has a license.
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_00: But there are also plenty of shops selling products that contain copyrighted or trademarked material without having the rights to use it.
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_00: And the fact that those shops are still selling those products doesn't mean it's okay.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_00: It may simply mean that they haven't been caught or reported yet.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_00: Etsy does shut down shops for this.
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_00: In fact, Etsy reported closing approximately 28,000 shops in 2025 for repeat infringement and our counterfeiting violations.
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_00: So beyond the fact that you shouldn't be using someone else's intellectual property without permission in the first place, it's also not worth putting the business you're building at risk.
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_00: And just to add one more thing here, Etsy shutting down your shop is only one possible consequence.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_00: The intellectual property owner can also choose to take legal action outside of Etsy, which can create a much bigger problem for the seller.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_00: And Disney is just one example.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_00: You see the exact same thing with professional sports teams and colleges.
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_00: You will see products all over Etsy with team names and logos, college names, mascots, and other branding that's connected to a particular team or school.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_00: And just like Disney, professional sports teams, colleges, and universities own intellectual property connected to their brands.
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_00: So as a seller without permission, you don't have the right to use that school's or team's intellectual property on products that you're selling.
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_00: And you need to be careful with the title and tags too.
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_00: Some sellers try to get a little creative and they'll avoid using the team name, logo, or mascot on the actual product and instead maybe make it in the team's colors, but then they'll use the team or school name in the title and tag so that someone searching for it can find it.
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_00: You have to think about the intellectual property you're using throughout the entire listing, not just what's printed on the product.
• 6:21
  SPEAKER_00: So simply leaving the team name or logo off the shirt doesn't automatically mean you're free to use the team's trademark in your title, tags, or description to market the product as being connected to that team or school.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_00: Disney, the Eagles, Penn State are all pretty obvious examples because you know you're dealing with a brand that belongs to someone else.
• 6:41
  SPEAKER_00: Where this gets a little less obvious is when we're talking about regular everyday words and phrases that you would never think could have trademark protection.
• 6:50
  SPEAKER_00: The words onesie and koozie are good examples.
• 6:53
  SPEAKER_00: Most of us use the word onesie to describe any one piece baby bodysuit, but onesie's is a registered trademark owned by Gerber.
• 7:02
  SPEAKER_00: If you're selling a bodysuit that isn't a onesie's brand product, Gerber says to use a generic term like bodysuit or one piece instead.
• 7:11
  SPEAKER_00: And then we commonly call the insulated sleeves that you put around a can a koozie.
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_00: But koozie is also a registered trademark.
• 7:19
  SPEAKER_00: So these are words that have become such a normal part of the way we talk that a lot of people don't even realize they're using a trademark.
• 7:27
  SPEAKER_00: And then we have the phrases that we're actually putting on our products.
• 7:31
  SPEAKER_00: I think this is where it becomes especially important for print-on-demand sellers.
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_00: Boy mom is a popular example of this.
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_00: It sounds like a completely ordinary phrase.
• 7:41
  SPEAKER_00: If you were sitting down to design a shirt for moms of boys, you could very easily come up with boy mom on your own.
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_00: It's probably not a phrase that you would immediately think is trademarked, but there is a live registered boy mom trademark that covers clothing, including shirts, t-shirts, and tank tops.
• 7:59
  SPEAKER_00: So checking for trademarks is a good habit to get into before you create a product around a phrase.
• 8:05
  SPEAKER_00: To do the check, you'll want to search the USPTO trademark database.
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_00: Just plug in the phrase and see what comes up.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_00: And then if you do see the phrase in the results, you're gonna need to look at it a little more closely.
• 8:19
  SPEAKER_00: First look at the status.
• 8:20
  SPEAKER_00: Make sure the trademark is live and registered because it could also be dead or abandoned, or it could still be in the pending application phase.
• 8:29
  SPEAKER_00: You also want to look at what exactly is trademarked.
• 8:32
  SPEAKER_00: Is it the actual wording that you're searching for?
• 8:35
  SPEAKER_00: Or are you looking at a particular logo or design that happens to contain those words?
• 8:41
  SPEAKER_00: That is a little distinction that's actually really important.
• 8:45
  SPEAKER_00: And then, maybe most importantly, take a look at the goods and services the trademark covers.
• 8:51
  SPEAKER_00: A trademark doesn't necessarily mean that no one can use those words on anything at all.
• 8:57
  SPEAKER_00: You need to look at what that particular trademark actually protects.
• 9:02
  SPEAKER_00: So if you're planning to put a phrase on a t-shirt and you find a live registered trademark for that phrase that specifically covers shirts and t-shirts, that's obviously going to be a much bigger red flag than finding the phrase registered for something completely unrelated.
• 9:18
  SPEAKER_00: So, say candles or journals or something.
• 9:21
  SPEAKER_00: And if you're not sure whether what you found applies to the product you want to sell, that's when you need to do a little more research or talk to an intellectual property attorney before moving forward.
• 9:31
  SPEAKER_00: Another area where intellectual property comes into play for print-on-demand sellers is with all of the different design elements we use to create our products.
• 9:39
  SPEAKER_00: A lot of us use graphics and fonts from Canva or Kittle.
• 9:43
  SPEAKER_00: Plus, I know some of us buy design elements from Etsy or some other websites.
• 9:47
  SPEAKER_00: And I know a lot of sellers have a subscription to a site where you can download fonts or graphics or other design assets.
• 9:53
  SPEAKER_00: The really important thing to understand here is that just because you have access to these elements, or even you've paid for them, it doesn't necessarily mean that you can use them however you want.
• 10:04
  SPEAKER_00: You need to understand the license that comes with it.
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_00: Some licenses allow you to use an element commercially and sell physical products that you've created with it.
• 10:14
  SPEAKER_00: Others have restrictions on how the element can be used, whether it needs to be changed or incorporated into a bigger design, how many products you can sell, or whether print-on-demand use is even allowed at all.
• 10:27
  SPEAKER_00: So anytime you're using something in your design that you didn't create yourself, take a minute to look at the license and make sure it allows you to use that element the way you're planning to use it.
• 10:38
  SPEAKER_00: I would do this before even downloading or purchasing the asset.
• 10:42
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely make sure that it allows for commercial use, saying that you are allowed to put it on something that you're going to sell, and then check and make sure you understand any of the additional restrictions.
• 10:56
  SPEAKER_00: And don't assume that just because you paid for a graphic or a font that you're automatically getting commercial rights.
• 11:02
  SPEAKER_00: What you're allowed to do with it depends on that license.
• 11:05
  SPEAKER_00: It only takes a few minutes to check, and it's much easier to do that before you create and list the product than to deal with an infringement report later and potentially put your shop at risk.
• 11:14
  SPEAKER_00: So, really, a lot of protecting yourself when it comes to intellectual property comes down to doing the research before you create and list the products.
• 11:22
  SPEAKER_00: And don't assume that because you see other people selling something that you're allowed to sell it to.
• 11:26
  SPEAKER_00: But what happens if you do get an intellectual property infringement notice from Etsy?
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_00: I think it's important to understand how that process works too.
• 11:33
  SPEAKER_00: So let's wrap this section up by talking about what happens if you do end up using someone else's intellectual property and the owner reports it.
• 11:42
  SPEAKER_00: If an IP owner submits an infringement report that meets Etsy's requirements, Etsy says it will remove the content identified in the report and notify the seller.
• 11:51
  SPEAKER_00: Etsy isn't making the legal determination that you infringed on someone's intellectual property.
• 11:57
  SPEAKER_00: They're just responding to a report submitted by the rights holder.
• 12:01
  SPEAKER_00: And unfortunately, this can be really frustrating, especially when you genuinely believe that you didn't infringe on anything.
• 12:08
  SPEAKER_00: So if this ever happens to you and you believe the report was made in error, read the notice Etsy sends you carefully because your options for responding will depend on what type of intellectual property infringement was reported.
• 12:21
  SPEAKER_00: For example, copyright claims have a formal counter notice process, while other types of claims may need to be handled differently.
• 12:28
  SPEAKER_00: Now, getting one infringement report doesn't necessarily mean your entire shop is going to be shut down.
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_00: But repeated infringement reports can put your shop at risk.
• 12:38
  SPEAKER_00: If Etsy sends you a warning or removes a listing, don't ignore it.
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_00: Take the time to understand why it happened before you continue creating or relisting similar products.
• 12:48
  SPEAKER_00: Understanding intellectual property is such an important part of protecting your Etsy shop.
• 12:53
  SPEAKER_00: If you're putting all of this time and effort into building a business, you want to make sure the products you're creating aren't unnecessarily putting that business in harm's way.
• 13:02
  SPEAKER_00: But intellectual property isn't the only Etsy policy that you need to be paying attention to.
• 13:08
  SPEAKER_00: There are other reasons shops get shut down.
• 13:10
  SPEAKER_00: So let's talk about a few other rules you need to know to protect your shop.
• 13:14
  SPEAKER_00: The next one is making sure that what you're selling is actually allowed to be sold on Etsy in the first place.
• 13:21
  SPEAKER_00: On this podcast, I talk a lot about print on demand, so I want to make it clear that print on demand is allowed on Etsy.
• 13:28
  SPEAKER_00: You do not have to physically make or print the products yourself.
• 13:32
  SPEAKER_00: Etsy allows you to sell products that you designed and then have a production partner produce for you.
• 13:37
  SPEAKER_00: The important part is that you need to be the one bringing the creative piece to the product.
• 13:43
  SPEAKER_00: You can't just find a ready-made product somewhere else, list it in your Etsy shop, and have another company ship it to the customer.
• 13:50
  SPEAKER_00: That's reselling.
• 13:51
  SPEAKER_00: And Etsy doesn't allow the resale of mass-produced products except in very specific categories where sourcing is specifically allowed.
• 13:59
  SPEAKER_00: If you are using a print-on-demand company, Etsy considers that company your production partner, and they do require you to disclose that production partner on the listings where you're using them.
• 14:12
  SPEAKER_00: So if you're using Printify or another POD company, don't try to hide that you're not physically printing the product yourself.
• 14:19
  SPEAKER_00: Etsy allows production partners.
• 14:21
  SPEAKER_00: You just need to disclose the production partner on your listing and be honest about the role that you're playing in creating the product and the role they're playing in producing it.
• 14:30
  SPEAKER_00: Another thing that can put your shop at risk is repeatedly failing to meet Etsy's customer service standards.
• 14:36
  SPEAKER_00: Etsy tracks things like whether you're responding to messages, whether you're shipping orders on time, your reviews and your case rate.
• 14:44
  SPEAKER_00: And Etsy says that if you repeatedly fail to meet these standards, your selling privileges can be suspended.
• 14:50
  SPEAKER_00: And this is important for print-on-demand sellers because even though another company is producing and shipping your products, you're still responsible for the order on Etsy.
• 15:00
  SPEAKER_00: So if your production partner is running behind and orders aren't getting out on time or customers are having problems with their orders once they arrive, you have to remember that it's still on you.
• 15:10
  SPEAKER_00: So make sure you're keeping an eye on your orders, responding to your messages, and dealing with problems when they come up.
• 15:17
  SPEAKER_00: Because these aren't just things that affect whether a customer leaves you a good review.
• 15:21
  SPEAKER_00: If you repeatedly fall below Etsy's customer service standards, it can put your ability to sell on Etsy in jeopardy.
• 15:28
  SPEAKER_00: Another way that you can put your shop at risk is by trying to get around Etsy's systems or avoid Etsy fees.
• 15:36
  SPEAKER_00: For example, if a customer finds you through Etsy, you can't direct them somewhere else to complete the purchase so that you don't have to pay Etsy fees.
• 15:44
  SPEAKER_00: Etsy calls this fee avoidance and it specifically prohibits it.
• 15:47
  SPEAKER_00: Etsy also doesn't allow sellers to manipulate things like sales or reviews.
• 15:52
  SPEAKER_00: So you don't want to have someone make a fake purchase just to leave you a five-star review or create transactions for the purpose of making your shop look more established than it is.
• 16:03
  SPEAKER_00: I know sometimes you hear little tricks and workarounds in Facebook groups or online that people claim they're getting away with.
• 16:10
  SPEAKER_00: But if the point is to get around an Etsy role or make something look different to Etsy than it really is, besides being dishonest, it's just not worth risking the business you're building.
• 16:20
  SPEAKER_00: And one last thing I want to mention because this one has nothing to do with the product you're selling.
• 16:25
  SPEAKER_00: Make sure you're paying attention to any emails or notifications Etsy sends you about your account.
• 16:31
  SPEAKER_00: Etsy can temporarily suspend a shop for things like an overdue balance, problems verifying your identity, if you have missing tax information, or you're not completing required bank account verification.
• 16:44
  SPEAKER_00: Some of these issues can be pretty simple to fix, but you have to know that Etsy is asking you to even fix them in the first place.
• 16:51
  SPEAKER_00: So keep your account information up to date and make sure Etsy has a current email address for you.
• 16:57
  SPEAKER_00: Don't ignore messages asking you to verify or update information connected to your shop.
• 17:02
  SPEAKER_00: Make sure they're legitimate first and it's not some sort of scam.
• 17:05
  SPEAKER_00: But once you do that, take care of it so that you don't risk your shop getting shut down, even if it is just temporary.
• 17:12
  SPEAKER_00: So to wrap this up, protecting your Etsy shop comes down to understanding the rules of the platform that you're building your business on, as well as the laws that apply to what you're creating and selling.
• 17:24
  SPEAKER_00: And it's not just about protecting your shop from getting shut down.
• 17:27
  SPEAKER_00: It's about building your business in an honest way that respects the rules and the rights of other people.
• 17:33
  SPEAKER_00: You've put a lot of time and effort into building your shop, so take the time to protect it.
• 17:38
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks so much for listening, and I will see you next week.