How to Protect Your Brand on Etsy: A Step-by-Step Guide

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Etsy, a global online marketplace for handmade, vintage, and custom goods, has grown dramatically since its founding in 2005. It’s home to countless independent creators, offering everything from artisanal jewelry and home décor to digital downloads and personalized gifts. For shoppers, Etsy represents authenticity and a personal touch in an era of mass production. 

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However, for brand owners, Etsy is a double-edged sword: while it can help drive legitimate brand exposure, it also creates new avenues for IP infringement and counterfeit sales. As such, understanding Etsy’s ecosystem and enforcement options is critical in today’s dynamic e-commerce landscape.

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What is Etsy?

At its core, Etsy is a platform designed to connect buyers with independent sellers offering unique products. It caters to consumers seeking something different: often handmade, vintage, or personalized. Sellers create their own Etsy pages to list and sell their items, with Etsy providing the infrastructure for transactions and buyer protection.

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Is Etsy legit? Yes. Etsy is a legitimate marketplace with millions of users and robust buyer protection policies. They even offer a purchase protection program to ensure that buyers can get a full refund if an order never arrives, arrives damaged, or is significantly different from the listing description.

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However, Etsy’s open marketplace model comes with challenges. Unlike traditional retail channels, Etsy doesn’t control its inventory or vet every product before listing. That makes it easier for counterfeiters and infringers to evade detection – and harder for brand owners to maintain control over their IP. Unauthorized sellers may list products that mimic branding, use registered trademarks without permission, or outright sell counterfeit versions of goods.

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Counterfeits don’t just harm the bottom line: they erode customer trust and damage the hard-won relationships built with consumer audiences. That’s why a proactive approach to monitoring and enforcing IP rights on Etsy is essential.

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How to Report Infringements on Etsy

If you find a listing that uses your intellectual property without authorization, Etsy provides tools to report and request removal. Let’s walk through the process.

Reporting a Suspicious Item (as a User): 

Even if you’re not the IP owner, you can flag suspicious listings.

1. Go to the bottom of the listing page and click “Report this item to Etsy.”

2. Choose “I don’t think it meets Etsy’s policies” and select the most appropriate reason.
3. Add details about why you’re reporting the item.
4. Submit the report.
   
   

Etsy’s teams review these reports and will remove the listing if it violates marketplace policies.

Reporting IP Infringement (as the IP Owner):

If you’re the IP owner or authorized representative, you’ll need to use Etsy’s dedicated Reporting Portal.

1. Create an Etsy account if you don’t have one already.
2. Provide IP ownership details: This includes your legal business name, website, and trademark registration numbers.
3. Add evidence: Upload screenshots, URLs of the infringing listings, side-by-side comparisons of your IP and the alleged counterfeit, and any other compelling evidence to support your case.
4. Letter of Authorization: If you’re reporting on behalf of an organization, Etsy may request this letter to confirm your authority.
5. Search for the infringing listings: use your brand’s keywords and browse all relevant listings. Then select the listings to report.

6. Submit your complaint and review for accuracy.

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You’ll receive an email confirmation once your report is filed. Etsy’s team will then evaluate the claim and remove the reported listings if it meets their policies.

What if Etsy Rejects Your Takedown Request?

Etsy’s review process isn’t perfect. Sometimes, even legitimate takedown requests get rejected due to missing information or a lack of evidence.

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Here’s how to handle it:

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• Resubmit with More Evidence: If your initial report lacked screenshots or detailed descriptions, strengthen your submission with clearer comparisons and additional proof of ownership.

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• Ensure Accuracy: Mismatched trademark numbers, outdated company details, or inconsistent product images can cause rejections. Triple-check that everything matches your official records.

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• Escalate When Necessary: For repeated denials, especially if the infringing listings are clear and persistent, contact Etsy’s legal team directly. In high-stakes cases, working with an IP attorney to send a formal legal notice may be warranted.

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Best Practices for IP Enforcement on Etsy

Proactive monitoring is essential for staying ahead of infringers on Etsy. Set up keyword alerts and regularly scan the marketplace for listings that use your brand name, logos, or trademarks. Counterfeiters often create multiple shop names to stay under the radar, so it’s essential to monitor consistently to catch them before they cause further harm.

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Beyond Etsy, it’s also important to educate your customers about how to identify authentic listings and encourage them to report suspicious items. Reinforcing this message in your marketing materials adds an extra layer of brand protection. Lastly, remember that Etsy is just one channel: consistent enforcement across other e-commerce sites like Amazon and Temu, as well as social media platforms, will further strengthen your IP defenses and help preserve your brand’s integrity.

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Final Thoughts: Make Brand Protection Easier with MarqVision

Etsy’s vibrant marketplace offers exciting opportunities for brand owners, but also comes with its fair share of challenges. Manually sifting through thousands of listings to find and report infringing products can be a tedious, time-consuming process that drains resources and makes it tough to act quickly against counterfeiters.

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That’s where MarqVision comes in. Our AI-powered platform automatically scans global marketplaces like Etsy, identifies suspected counterfeit listings, and compiles everything you need to take action, saving you hours of manual searching and paperwork. Instead of reactive, listing-by-listing enforcement, MarqVision brings automation, scale, and efficiency to your brand protection strategy.

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Ready to see how much easier and faster it can be? Contact us for a demo and experience firsthand how MarqVision can help you protect your IP: on Etsy and beyond.