I’m probably not supposed to talk about this.
But…several months ago, I
got an email from the Etsy Legal Team with the subject “Etsy Infringement
Notice.” Scary. Scarier yet was how all of my
handmade necktie wristlets had been deactivated from my shop. Poof! They were gone.
The email said that I had violated the Copyright and Intellectual
Property Law. What?! Was I some
sort of criminal? At the very
least, I must be a bad person. It
turned out that someone was mad at me.
This stranger had said that I had stolen her idea--her patented
idea. I was being instructed to
not, I repeat NOT, sell anymore necktie wristlets. If I did, my shop would be burned to the ground and my family killed. Or something like that.
I felt a lot of
emotions. On one hand, the
necktie wristlet hadn’t been my original idea. I had seen one somewhere, sometime, and these wristlets had
sprung from there. What creativity
isn’t inspired by others’? I had,
in fact, seen lots of things made from neckties in my life. This isn’t a new idea. People have been recycling neckties
since the dawn of crafting. I also
felt mad. Selling things made out
of neckties is a leisurely hobby of mine.
I’m a professional educator.
Crafting is not my livelihood, but merely something I dabble in and
enjoy. Was this stranger really so
threatened by the nine wristlets I had sold over the past 5 months that she
needed to shut me down? I didn’t
understand.
In the Legal Team’s email,
I was given this stranger’s name and email address. I decided to contact this woman and reason with her. I
believe in the power of communication. If you have a problem, you talk about
it. I swallowed all those feelings
of anger and sent her the following:
Hi,
I
was really confused when I received a notification from the Etsy legal team
regarding copyright infringement. After looking in your shop I see that you
make a similar necktie wristlet and have been doing so for some time. I'm truly
sorry that you feel I've copied your design and original idea. That was
certainly not my intent at all!
I'm
a teacher in a public school in Milwaukee. Crafting and
having an Etsy shop is just a hobby of mine. I've been in love with vintage
neckties for a long time and I first started making purses from them several
years ago. I guess my point is that I'm not out to take away business from you
or steal your ideas, but just that I enjoy making purses and wristlets out of
old neckties. My hope is that we can resolve this matter in a way that makes
everyone feel good and that is in the spirit of crafting.
All
the best,
Liv
There. That should do it. Except that this woman never
responded. Not so much as a
peep. Why, that’s not in the
spirit of crafting! The spirit of
crafting is about sharing ideas and inspiring creativity! It’s about appreciating that someone
else out there in the world likes making things out of old ties the same way
you do! Weren’t we sorta like kindred spirits? I guess not. My
spirit was quickly turning into spite. A part of me now wanted to
take business away from this woman.
I contacted my
lawyer-friend for advice. We
decided that if I changed my design and made it different enough, that it would
no longer be copying. I began to
feel energized. Nothing inspires
quite like spite. I had been
thinking about improving my design anyway, and now it was time to get to
work. I would turn this stranger’s
negative energy into positive, spite-filled energy.
Instead of two pockets, I
added a third pocket. I changed
the design of the strap to incorporate the skinny end of the necktie, and I
used the tie label to hold the D-ring in place. Voila! Now,
that’s a necktie wristlet!
 |
| Old design. Yuck! |
 |
| New and improved! |
I don’t really like lemonade (it makes me thirsty), but the old adage rings true: When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. Or, in my case, when life gives you copyright infringement, make a better product and sell it for a few bucks more.
