Taylor Swift and Etsy Are Sparring Over Adorable Trademarked Goods
A showdown of twee-dom (Via WSJ Live).
Taylor Swift’s long list of scorned ex-lovers now includes at least two tech companies.
After first pulling all her music from the streaming service Spotify because she wasn’t “willing to contribute my life’s work to an experiment,” T. Swift has now waged a war against e-commerce shop/homemade felt cat accessory distributor Etsy, according to a report from BuzzFeed.
At least one Etsy store owner was sent a cease-and-desist letter from Swift’s lawyers claiming she was guilty of trademark infringement for selling a T-shirt emblazoned with one of the singer’s lyrics.
Just a small sample of the T. Swift swag you could buy on Etsy. (Etsy)
“We originally made the item for fun,” the seller, who wished to remain anonymous, told BuzzFeed reporter Patrick Smith. “We love Taylor, and we had friends that love Taylor. The cost of the item covered shipping and production costs, with very little left over.”
The seller said she was “shocked” and “scared” when she was told to take down the products, explaining, “This had seemed like such a harmless and fun idea.”
The “Blank Space” singer made headlines last week when she filed to trademark several song lyrics from her latest album, 1989, including “This sick beat” — a move that inspired at least one metal protest song.
Ironically enough, Fusion used the news item as an opportunity to write a guide to Etsy-made Taylor Swift paraphernalia titled “Don’t worry, you can still buy plenty of non-trademarked Taylor Swift garbage on Etsy.” Though most of those products are still available to buy online, the majority of the T. Swift crafts included in a holiday viral BuzzFeed post are nowhere to be seen.
Still, it seems this move has left many of Swift’s mouth-frothing fans with feelings of betrayal.
(Via Twitter)
(Via Twitter)
It should be noted that Swift is simply following in the steps of human supernova Beyoncé, whose lawyers sent their own warning to an Etsy distributor who was selling Feyoncé mugs. Not to mention, noted Swift nemesis Katy Perry recently sent her lawyers to shut down the unauthorized 3D printing of her heavily memed "Left Shark" Super Bowl backup dancer.
So be warned, Swifties/crafters. Taylor Swift’s lawyers have a blank space. And they’ll write your name.
Related: T. Swift will be at the Grammys on Sun. Feb. 8. Come back here at 7 p.m. ET for complete coverage of her awkward dance moves.
