Temu, a popular online marketplace, has committed to working with the greeting card industry to expedite the removal of copied designs. This move comes after numerous card companies reported that their copyrighted artwork was being replicated and sold as cheaper knock-offs, resulting in significant financial losses.
Designers have described the process of getting these plagiarized items taken down as a frustrating ‘whack-a-mole’ game, with new infringing products quickly reappearing after removal. Amanda Mountain, co-founder of Lola Design, shared her experience of finding nearly all her decade’s worth of designs copied, expressing shock and demotivation.
Temu has stated that protecting intellectual property is a high priority and has launched a trial for a new, streamlined takedown process specifically for the greetings card sector. Under this new system, card firms will only need to submit one link to remove multiple infringing listings, with AI assisting in blocking future violations before they are even posted for sale.
This bespoke process, developed with industry input, has already seen a significant number of listings removed automatically for one publisher. The Greeting Card Association (GCA) has welcomed these changes, acknowledging the distress caused by copycat sellers and the disappointment it brings to consumers. Amanda Fergusson, CEO of the GCA, called the dialogue and actions taken by Temu a “welcome first-step.”
For businesses like Lola Design, the issue extends beyond financial impact to the emotional toll and the time invested in combating these infringements. The GCA hopes this collaborative approach might serve as a model for addressing similar issues across other product categories. The initiative highlights the ongoing challenge of protecting creative work in the digital marketplace.