Featureflash / Shutterstock.com
Singer Taylor Swift has demanded that sellers on e-marketplace Etsy remove goods bearing her likeness and featuring lyrics from her songs.
According to reports, the singer’s lawyers have ordered sellers to take down certain Swift-themed items. Goods including candles that feature lyrics from her song, Blank Space, and mugs that mimic the art used on her album, 1989, are no longer available on the site.
Etsy, which boasts nearly 44 million members, provides access to mainly hand-made and vintage goods.
One Etsy seller told entertainment website BuzzFeed that last month she received a warning from Swift’s lawyers about trademark infringement in relation to a T-shirt she was selling.
She said: “We originally made the item for fun. We love Taylor and we had friends that love Taylor. We never intended for it to be a profit-making item. The cost of the item covered shipping costs and production costs, with very little left over.”
Etsy did not respond to TBO’s request for comment, but it told BuzzFeed: “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 intellectual property policy.”
Swift recently applied to trademark phrases including ‘This Sick Beat’ and ‘Nice to meet you. Where you been’, which are also lyrics comprising some of her songs, in the US.
The 25-year-old already owns US trademarks for her name and initials.
Taylor Swift, Etsy, trademark,
