Temu's Commitment to Protect Greeting Card Designs Amid Copyright Concerns

Thu Oct 23 2025 23:37:35 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)

E-commerce platform Temu partners with the greeting card industry to expedite the removal of copied designs, addressing concerns of affected small businesses.

In response to concerns from designers and the Greeting Card Association, Temu, the online shopping giant, has pledged to enhance its takedown process for copied greeting card designs. The new system aims to make it easier for creators to protect their intellectual property, preventing unauthorized reproductions of their work from appearing on the platform.

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

Card firms claim hundreds of their copyrighted images have been used to create inexpensive rip-offs, resulting in significant financial losses.

Designers have likened the removal process to a 'whack-a-mole' game as copied products often reappear shortly after being taken down.

Temu claims that safeguarding intellectual property is a top priority and emphasizes its ongoing efforts to enhance seller participation in a new trial aimed at expediting the takedown of infringing designs.

Amanda Mountain, co-founder of York-based Lola Design, discovered that numerous designs she had cultivated over a decade were being copied. She purchased one of the counterfeit cards, noting the poor quality and distorted image compared to her own work, expressing disappointment and disillusionment.

As a result of industry pressure, Temu has initiated a bespoke takedown process which allows card companies to report a single link for removal, rather than individual listings. The new system is expected to log original creations as protected images, utilizing AI to prevent unauthorized listings from being uploaded.

While Amanda and her business partner estimate they have lost approximately £100,000 in sales to copycat versions, the emotional impact of the infringement has been more challenging to bear.

Temu reports that it resolves the majority of takedown requests within three working days and hopes the new system will increase efficiency in protecting designers’ creations. This change could also serve as a blueprint for similar protections across various product categories.

Industry leaders, like Amanda Fergusson from the Greeting Card Association, welcome Temu's commitment, emphasizing the importance of curbing copycat sellers to protect both creators and customers.

Amanda Mountain warns that the fight against copyright infringement not only jeopardizes creators' livelihoods but threatens the entire greeting card industry, which sells 1.5 billion cards annually in the UK.

She urges consumers to consider the hidden costs of choosing cheaper imitators over original designs, as the sustainability of the design community hangs in the balance.