Today I want to share how I almost lost my Etsy shop over intellectual property rights. It happened in February 2018, when Etsy was my main source of income. We sold wall decals, paintings, banners and posters. A simple, polite conversation helped save my business.
I created the designs and drew the artwork myself. I was sure I was not breaking any rules. Then one day I received an email from Etsy's legal department about an intellectual property complaint. In fact, there were two emails and two complaints.
The first was about a decal with an owl and some words about Hogwarts. Warner Bros. Entertainment had filed the complaint. The second was about a wall decal with flying birds and the words Let it be. That complaint came from Bravado, which represented The Beatles.
Etsy immediately deactivated both listings. The platform warned me that repeated violations could lead to the loss of my account and the closure of my shop. I felt the ground disappear beneath my feet. If the shop closed, I would lose my business.
I started trying to understand what had gone wrong. I had drawn the owl myself, chosen the lettering for Let it be and added the birds you can see in the photo. I had not copied their logos. To me, that meant the designs were my own.
But in my case, the problem was also in the words I used to sell the products. I had included Harry Potter, Hogwarts and The Beatles in the titles and tags. The complaints made me realise that my own artwork did not remove the concerns about trademark use in those listings. Etsy's emails included contact details for the people who had filed the complaints. Instead of just deleting the products and staying quiet, I decided to write to them directly.
I contacted Mr Smith at Universal Music about The Beatles and a representative of Warner Bros. I did not argue or try to prove that being an artist made me right. I explained that I was a small seller and that this shop was my main source of income. I said I had not realised I was infringing their rights and had removed the disputed products. I asked them to explain what I had done wrong so I would not repeat the mistake.
Their replies surprised me. The Warner Bros. representatives were very polite. They said they appreciated that I was a Harry Potter fan, but that selling products with those references was not appropriate. They asked me to remove all products connected with that fictional world. Even so, they treated me with understanding.
My conversation with Mr Smith about The Beatles was especially helpful. He explained that putting the band's name in the product title could make buyers think it was official merchandise. Then he said I could list the product again if I removed all references to The Beatles from the title, description and tags. That gave me a clear way to correct the listing.
I changed it straight away and removed the band's name. The new title was Wall Decal Quote Let It Be with Birds. I sent him the link to check and asked whether he could withdraw the complaint with Etsy if everything was now correct. Nine minutes later, he replied that the email to Etsy had been sent. The complaint was withdrawn and my account was back in good standing.
That experience taught me to look beyond the picture and pay attention to the words I use in a listing. It also reminded me that there are people on the other side of the screen. Admitting a mistake, being polite and making things right worked better than silence or aggression. That is my story about birds, lawyers and a second chance.
