With her fourth Grammy under her belt and the announcement of her upcoming album, “The Tortured Poets Department,” Taylor Swift's stock has never been higher, and unofficial merchandise sellers are looking to get in on the action.
But users of the Reddit thread r/TaylorSwiftMerch say that's becoming harder to do as buyers and sellers report experiencing canceled orders and online stores that have disappeared.
“I want to buy an ornament on Etsy, but I heard Taylor is closing stores,” one person commented.
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“I don't want to order something just for the store to disappear. Has anyone had any problems or heard this rumor?”
The answer seems to be a resounding “yes.”
“Ugh yeah, I've had several orders canceled or not shown,” another person responded.
“I had to open a case with Etsy to get a refund with one of them. It's a shame, especially since Etsy is the only place I can find things in actual kids' sizes. I wonder who the real driving force is: Etsy? Or Taylor's team?”
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Another person commented about an experience selling unofficial Taylor Swift merchandise.
“Yes, it's true,” the person wrote. “I was lucky that only one listing was removed [of her most popular item]but some are closing completely.”
Fans enjoy Taylor Swift's performance during The Eras Tour at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif., on Monday, August 7, 2023. Swift's fans, also known as “Swifties,” are known to be extremely loyal to the global superstar. (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Fox News Digital has reached out to Etsy for comment.
Etsy is an e-commerce site that allows people to buy and sell handmade or vintage items and craft supplies.
The global online marketplace's policy, as listed on its website, states: “Etsy strives to respond quickly when we receive a report of intellectual property (IP) infringement that complies with our policies by removing or disabling access to material allegedly offender”.
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Etsy's intellectual property (IP) policy also states that sellers are responsible for ensuring that they have all necessary rights to their content and that they do not infringe or violate the rights of third parties when posting it.
Taylor Swift fans expressed their disappointment in a Reddit thread after Etsy appeared to crack down on unofficial merchandise attached to the singer. Taylor Swift performs on stage during The Eras Tour at Allianz Parque on November 24, 2023, in Sao Paulo, Brazil. (Buda Mendes/TAS23/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management)
The two things creators and sellers of unofficial products should be aware of are copyright and trademark infringement, Mark Siegmund, a Central Texas-based attorney who specializes in intellectual property, told Fox News Digital. .
“Copyright is essentially a set of rights granted to the author of a work that allows him to control, protect and exploit his artistic works,” Siegmund said.
“And there just have to be a couple of things for it to be a protectable copyright. It has to be original and, in some sense, it has to be fixed, that is, not purely ethereal,” he added.
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Copyright protects literary, musical, dramatic works, recordings and any other similar material, Siegmund said.
In 2015, Taylor Swift attacked Etsy sellers by sending them cease and desist letters. The star has a registered trademark. (Buda Mendes/TAS23/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management)
“When you have copyright, you have many different rights,” Siegmund said.
“You have the right to reproduce it, make derivative works of that copyright, distribute copies of it, and then obviously prevent others from doing so.”
A trademark, he added, can be a word, phrase or design, or a combination of them, that identifies a particular good or service.
“A good example is a logo,” he also stated. “For example, the Nike logo.”
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In 2015, Taylor Swift attacked Etsy sellers by sending them cease-and-desist letters, which Siegmund said are often a warning that those people might be violating copyright laws. Earlier that year, Swift filed to trademark several phrases from 1989, including “this sick beat” and “party like it's 1989.”
In 2007, Swift filed her first trademark application, which was her name, “Taylor Swift.”
Since then, he has filed at least 200 trademark applications that include everything from song lyrics to album covers to tour names, Siegmund said.
Taylor Swift has reportedly filed quite a few trademark applications attached to her tour names, song lyrics, initials, and more. (iStock; Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic)
So if people create products and print words or images on those products, they should pay attention to whether those words or images have been trademarked by the artist or creator.
Siegmund said, however, that the creator does not own certain words or brands outright.
“You only have the right to how that word is used within your particular goods or services,” he said.
“How similar is the brand to your brand? Would the public be confused by it? And is the brand even within the same industry? So that's the kind of thing that people who use the rights to of famous people should be careful.
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For example, Siegmund said, Swift has a trademark registration for the word “Swiftie.”
So if someone created an unofficial t-shirt that has “Swiftie” printed on it, that person could be infringing on Swift's intellectual property.
Taylor Swift fans Tiana Kuhlmann, Anna Kuhlmann and Matthew Reed show off their friendship bracelets before the world premiere of the movie “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” at AMC Mission Valley 20 on October 13, 2023 in San Diego . (Daniel Knighton/Getty Images)
A Reddit user asked, “Is there any fan-made merch that is actually legal and doesn't violate intellectual property? Are there any fan-made TS items that can be sold legally?”
It gets complicated, Siegmund said, when you consider the concept of name, image and likeness (NIL).
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“People have the right to control the commercial use of their name, image and likeness or other types of unique aspects of who they are,” he said.
“This could be another big concern for people regarding Taylor Swift. If they are using her name, for example, potentially partially using her name and product descriptions or titles or anything could be seen as an attempt to profit from her. identity.”
“And that would violate their right to publicity, which would be a problem,” Siegmund said.
Taylor Swift attends the 66th GRAMMY Awards at Crypto.com Arena on February 4, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. (Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
Additionally, merch creators cannot sell anything that implies Taylor Swift or any other creator is associated with what they sell, unless, of course, they have your permission to do so.
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It would also be an abuse of the right of publicity.
A Taylor Swift fan on Reddit hopes the pop star will open “her own Etsy store” so fans can legally sell products. (Buda Mendes/TAS23/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management)
Some of Swift's fans on Reddit commented that they respect artists' rights, saying, “Yes, it's hard with fan-made material, but you have to support the artists too.”
Others said they would like the opportunity to work with the star.
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“I'd like you to open your own Etsy to sell fan products,” one person suggested.
“Allow people to use your lyrics, etc., but have a team review them all first and charge fees, etc. based on your cut, the same way Etsy does. We would have more variety and she would support the artists” .
Another person agreed: “It would be great if you collaborated with fans!”
Fans enjoy Taylor Swift's performance during The Eras Tour at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, on Monday, August 7, 2023. (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Swift recently filed paperwork to trademark the phrase “TAYLOR-CON,” meaning the star could soon put her own label on merchandise, according to a recent TMZ report and trademark application obtained by the media outlet.
Fox News Digital has reached out to Swift's publicist for comment.
Fox News Digital also reached out to Amazon and Walmart, as both sites sell Taylor Swift-themed products.
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