Items sold on Folksy must *not* infringe someone else’s copyright or trademark. It is your responsibility to check that you are not infringing Copyright or any Trademark (especially if you are using a brand name, logo, or character name). Any liability rests with you should the Copyright or trademark owner pursue a legal case against you for misuse of a trademarked term or logo and/or for using copyrighted material.

If you are listing items to sell please make sure that:

• All designs are your original work.
• Any items made from bought fabric can be resold.
• Items made from patterns, kits, stencils or stamps can be legally resold.
• If your item includes an image that has not been created by you, that you have permission to use it. 

In the past Folksy have been contacted with regards to copyright and trademark infringements:

These are just some of the brands and companies that have contacted Folksy and who police their trademarked and copyright content vigorously. 

• Aladdin Sane (David Bowie) -The Aladdin Sane imagery is property of the Duffy Archive Ltd & the David Bowie Archive™. The distinct red and blue ‘Flash’ Symbol is a registered trademark and unauthorised use is not allowed.
• Sir Terry Pratchett - Items which make reference to or seek to represent Sir Terry Pratchett, his work, or his various trademarks, are not permitted.
• Orla Kiely – No items made from Orla Kiely fabric, or patterns or mentioning Orla Kiely can be listed
• Chanel - No use of the word Chanel or any of it's associated brands including Coco Chanel and Chanel No 5. No use of any of the Chanel Trade Marks, symbols or codes. No copying of Chanel designs.
• Herge – no Tin Tin or other Herge items can be listed
• Getty Images - No stock images to be used from Getty images unless a license has been granted.
• ‘Taggies’ – this is a registered trademark for tag blankets so can’t be used to describe any items.
• London Underground – The Underground map and logo, New Johnston font and the London Transport Museum poster and photograph collections are protected by copyright.
• Jean Greenhowe patterns – all patterns are for personal use only. This means that products made from Jean Greenhowe patterns can NOT be sold.
• 'Zingy' (the mascot for EDF energy's 'Feel Better Energy' campaign) - designed and owned by BeatBots LLC 
• LUSH cosmetics - The word "Lush" is not to be used when describing cosmetic or toiletry products.
• Paddington Bear - The word Paddington and his associated character images are trade marked. Unauthorised use of the trade marks is not allowed.
• Wrendale - Wrendale napkins are not allowed for decoupage.
• Aardman Animations - the use of Aardman characters or trademarks is not allowed. 

Items which we have been informed ARE allowed:

• Alan Dart – items made from Alan Dart patterns can be listed, but must be credited to him
• Amy Butler fabrics usage is allowed – the ‘not to be used for commercial uses’ notice on the fabric selvedge will be removed in the future.

What do I do if I feel a seller on Folksy has breached my copyright?

This is a particularly sensitive matter that can cause a lot of distress, especially when it concerns two sellers on Folksy. 

Please contact us if you feel that a seller on Folksy has breached your copyright and we will do our best to help you resolve the issue with the other seller. 
Please provide us with written details of the alleged copyright infringement including:

• Links to your shop and that of the other seller
• Links to the items of yours which you believe are being copied
• Links to the corresponding items in the other seller's Folksy shop
• Any evidence which supports your claim that your item was created first
• Any evidence which supports your claim that the other seller is copying your work
• If the copyright infringement concerns a trademark, please include your registered trademark number

For the quickest response, please email us directly at support@folksy.com or open a new ticket here on our Helpdesk. 
Please do not use the 'report item to Folksy' link on the item page to report a Copyright complaint.

Folksy’s policy on alleged copyright and trademark infringement

We can only take action or remove items from Folksy if we know that they definitely infringe Copyright.  Each company has their own policy on use of their brand; some don't allow any use of their name, logo etc., others actively encourage it. Also, parodies of works protected by copyright often fall under existing fair use exceptions, and this is something we can not research or police.

Therefore if there is an alleged infringement, we ask that the owner of the Copyright, or an agent authorised to act on behalf of the owner, contacts us directly to provide us with a Infringement Notice. Only complaints by owners or their agents will be pursued by Folksy Ltd. The listing(s) (and potentially the shop) will then be suspended while the complaint is assessed, and any further action taken as necessary.

Our policy is legitimate and is based on the consensus position of sites where the content is created by users of the service.

Advice about copyright and trademarks can be sought from the following organisations:

Intellectual Property Office -
http://www.ipo.gov.uk/

Institute of Trademark Attorneys:
http://www.itma.org.uk/

Fact sheets on copyright
http://www.copyrightservice.co.uk/

ACID
http://www.acid.uk.com/