Etsy’s Trademark Guidelines

SarahSays

Story by SarahSays

Published on May 19, 2009 in Etsy News

Photo by BedrockIndustries

Hi! This is SarahSays, Etsy’s in-house legal counsel.

A little over a year ago we launched the Etsy Trademark Permissions Program. Since that time, dozens of Etsy members applied to use and were granted permission to use the Etsy marks in products, for free. 

In an effort to further support and encourage ideas, services and tools that use and supplement the Etsy services while also protecting Etsy’s reputation and brand identity, Etsy is excited to introduce the Etsy Trademark Use Guidelines. We hope that these Guidelines will help Etsy members, Etsy Teams, and others refer to Etsy or our services without compromising the strength of our trademarks or our brand identity. Please note, these Guidelines are intended clarify Etsy’s existing policy; this is not a policy change.

The Guidelines consist of three parts: a general overview section, an examples section with specific and detailed explanations, and a section dedicated to the Etsy Trademark Permissions Program to request permission to use the Etsy mark. 

The Guidelines only concern the use of Etsy’s intellectual property (for example, the term “Etsy”). For issues regarding any intellectual property which is not exclusively owned by Etsy, please refer to Etsy’s Copyright and Intellectual Property Policy.

We will be holding a Virtual Labs at 10:00 a.m. ET on Thursday, May 21, 2009 to answer any questions you may have regarding the Etsy Trademark Use Guidelines or the Etsy Trademark Permissions Program. I want to personally thank the community for your passion, your patience, and the creativity you bring to Etsy.

Read More Posts about Trademark Issues

Discuss: 48 comments

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  • uknowuneedanother

    uknowuneedanother says:

    Interesting. Is this a possible precursor to licenced product lines?

    3 years ago

  • adoreneko

    adoreneko says:

    Thank you for making the trademark guidelines more easy to understand. :-)

    3 years ago

  • WanderlustBling

    WanderlustBling says:

    Thanks for bringing this to our attention. I didn't know this program existed until now, so this was a good read.

    3 years ago

  • missindie

    missindie says:

    Thanks for this great article! :]

    3 years ago

  • PennyFabricArt

    PennyFabricArt says:

    You state in your Trademark Use Guidelines: "Do spell the Etsy Marks properly" and "Do not remove, alter, distort or modify the Etsy Marks" Yet you are doing these things to OUR trademarked names within our shops and all over the site in gallery view. I am glad that you added the USD mark to meet the legal requirements of international sellers. But the graphical manner that you chose to implement it has created trademark use infringements sitewide, because you have truncated our names. Thus you are Not Spelling Our Marks Properly, and you are Altering, Distorting, and Modifying our marks. Please fix your system so that you are able to honor OUR trademark guidelines. It's a 2-way street.

    3 years ago

  • Rosez75

    Rosez75 says:

    I didn't know this existed either...thanks for the info and guidelines.

    3 years ago

  • FiveFingerStudios

    FiveFingerStudios says:

    I like all the smiley items!

    3 years ago

  • ellecools

    ellecools says:

    What a happy collection of items!

    3 years ago

  • ElegantSnobbery

    ElegantSnobbery says:

    What a CUTE selection of items! Love 'em!

    3 years ago

  • FableBay

    FableBay says:

    didn't know about these guidelines, thanks. sometimes the obvious needs to be stated, i suppose...

    3 years ago

  • PennyFabricArt

    PennyFabricArt says:

    FableBay didn't know about these guidelines, thanks. sometimes the obvious needs to be stated, i suppose... ----------------------- Yes, The Obvious needs to be stated: Our venue (Etsy) needs to honor our trademarks by not distorting, altering, or misspelling them.

    3 years ago

  • jamieribisi

    jamieribisi says:

    ...or allowing sellers to rip off other people's trademarks/copyright/etc.

    3 years ago

  • JeweledAmbrosia

    JeweledAmbrosia says:

    wow pennyartfabric, what a convoluted way to speak negatively over the space of characters that can't always be shown in gallery mode titles. rather odd rant

    3 years ago

  • rickrackruby

    rickrackruby says:

    How about not distorting, altering or misspelling the word "counsel" for a start. LOL.

    3 years ago

  • stellaloellaAdmin

    stellaloella says:

    rickrackruby, clever catch on that typo. All fixed. Thanks!

    3 years ago

  • Morado

    Morado says:

    Giner Tabby Kat! I lurrvve you...muaah! hehe

    3 years ago

  • PennyFabricArt

    PennyFabricArt says:

    JeweledAmbrosia: if they just put the USD below the price then our trademarked names would show in their entirety. It's just a graphic design decision. And if my post was an odd rant, then what is this entire article? Etsy oddly ranting about wanting their name stated properly?

    3 years ago

  • CutieDynamite

    CutieDynamite says:

    Interesting....I need to read this!

    3 years ago

  • XPoppysWickedGardenX

    XPoppysWickedGardenX says:

    Yowsers this seems to be quite a ruffling of feathers! anyways interesting reads and I'm glad to know the guidelines were made a bit clearer if I ever decide to take advantage of them!

    3 years ago

  • HouseHoldWords

    HouseHoldWords says:

    Very interesting.

    3 years ago

  • esmeraldadesigns

    esmeraldadesigns says:

    Very interesting, thank you for clarifying the legalese:)

    3 years ago

  • trafalgarssquare

    trafalgarssquare says:

    i'm enjoying the posts...

    3 years ago

  • Mattamorphis

    Mattamorphis says:

    Great blog

    3 years ago

  • cindyandmindy

    cindyandmindy says:

    Great information. Thanks for posting.

    3 years ago

  • uknowuneedanother

    uknowuneedanother says:

    PennyFabricArt, interesting post. It might be necessary for the sellers here to registar their names as a tradmark in order to legally protect themselves. Legal, ethical and moral do not always align.

    3 years ago

  • emilyfrances

    emilyfrances says:

    PennyFabricArt: Depending on the length of a seller's name, many were partially hidden before the addition of USD after the prices. It seems that you are only taking issue with this now because your name is affected?

    3 years ago

  • melaniesOriginals

    melaniesOriginals says:

    funny how they are talking about trademarks and stuff but post article with infringement all the time and then use the excuse that it's "fan art". So I guess we can use that excuse to if they find something that is "illegal" under their guidelines, no? It is more than a 2way street.

    3 years ago

  • MelroseFields

    MelroseFields says:

    This is great. I wish I had known about this prior. Being a new seller it would be nice to see items like this archived somewhere.

    3 years ago

  • ebbandflo

    ebbandflo says:

    "The word “Etsy” and other Etsy graphics, logos, designs, page headers, button icons, scripts, and service names (together, the “Etsy Marks”) ...." "DO: * Do make fair use of Etsy’s Marks. Etsy supports free speech and you do not need permission to make legitimate commentary about Etsy, the company, or Etsy’s services." "DO NOT: * Do not use the Etsy Marks in a manner that is in Etsy’s sole opinion misleading, unfair, defamatory, infringing, libelous, disparaging, tarnishing, obscene or otherwise objectionable to Etsy." ---------------------------------------------------------- So, are you now saying that using an Etsy Mark ie. the name "Etsy" is not allowed in a passage of critical text which Etsy might deem disparaging, objectionable or unfair? Is that not contrary to the passage lauding Etsy's support of free speech or does harken back to Rokali's assertion that off-site behaviour is taken into consideration when assessing a person's worth in inclusion on the site?

    3 years ago

  • CollectionObsession

    CollectionObsession says:

    Thanks for all the smiles. I read the article and it seems common sense.

    3 years ago

  • ireneagh

    ireneagh says:

    Great blog!

    3 years ago

  • Iammie

    Iammie says:

    Nice stuff!

    3 years ago

  • lovelygifts

    lovelygifts says:

    Good info

    3 years ago

  • MetalheartDesign

    MetalheartDesign says:

    @ebbandflo: the legal language you are asking about refers to the USE of a trademark, not just talking about. it. You can say whatever you want about Etsy--just like you can say whatever you want about Coke or Nike, good or bad. However, you are limited in how you use the trademark.

    3 years ago

  • Liyana

    Liyana says:

    awesome blog :D

    3 years ago

  • beautifulbridget

    beautifulbridget says:

    Awesome! Thanks Etsy!

    3 years ago

  • nomivintage

    nomivintage says:

    Good Stuff!

    3 years ago

  • EJPcreations

    EJPcreations says:

    the robots are so cute!!!

    3 years ago

  • odiliafuart

    odiliafuart says:

    Thanks for the info!

    3 years ago

  • Mymothersgarden

    Mymothersgarden says:

    Thanks! This is good information to know!

    3 years ago

  • lilworkerb

    lilworkerb says:

    I love everything about Etsy

    3 years ago

  • sisterbutterfly

    sisterbutterfly says:

    You guys never miss a beat!

    3 years ago

  • TianaCHE

    TianaCHE says:

    Thank you for awesome article!

    3 years ago

  • jamesmartin

    jamesmartin says:

    woo hoo, wow, yippeee! Thanks!!! I love you guys!!!! This is AWESOME! You never miss a beat, or a chance to say how much you love us!! Did I mention how fantastic you are? :)! This article is the BEST EVER!!

    3 years ago

  • LisasLittleCreations

    LisasLittleCreations says:

    Thanks for the great article. :)

    3 years ago

  • vilte

    vilte says:

    cute items

    3 years ago

  • vivilian

    vivilian says:

    very cute I love it

    3 years ago

  • budlyboys

    budlyboys says:

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    3 years ago