Temu Takes Action Against Copyright Infringement in Greeting Card Industry

Thu Oct 23 2025 17:02:46 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)

Online shopping platform Temu collaborates with card designers to expedite the removal of plagiarized greeting card designs, addressing long-standing industry challenges.

Temu has announced a partnership with the greeting card industry to enhance copyright protection by swiftly removing counterfeit designs from its marketplace. This decision follows complaints from card creators over repeated instances of design theft, which have significantly impacted their businesses. A new automated takedown process aims to protect original works and reduce the burden on designers.

Online shopping giant Temu has agreed to work with the greeting card industry to remove copied designs from its site more quickly.

Card firms say hundreds of their copyrighted images have been used to create cheap rip-offs, costing them thousands of pounds in lost sales.

Designers told the BBC the process for getting the plagiarised listings removed has been like the fairground game 'whack-a-mole' with copied products re-appearing within days.

Temu said protecting intellectual property was a 'top priority' and that it was encouraging sellers to join the trial of a new takedown process specifically for the greetings card industry.

Amanda Mountain, co-founder of York-based Lola Design, discovered that nearly all designs she created over a decade had been copied. She bought one of her designs from Temu and found the product was of poorer quality and distorted, illustrating the emotional toll these violations have on creators.

Thanks to pressure from the Greeting Card Association (GCA), Temu has implemented a bespoke takedown process that allows card firms to more efficiently combat copyright violations. Under this new system, a single link submission can lead to the removal of multiple infringement listings.

This innovation leverages AI technology to protect original artwork, ensuring that replicated designs are blocked before they can be listed for sale. The GCA has welcomed these steps as a much-needed first move toward addressing concerns about counterfeit goods.

Amanda Fergusson, chief executive of the GCA, emphasizes the importance of protecting creativity within the card industry as it thrives on authenticity. The ongoing dialogue with Temu can pave the way for a healthier marketplace where creativity is respected and upheld.

The changes underscore a growing recognition of the need for better enforcement of intellectual property rights in online retail, with broader implications for various industries confronting similar challenges.