Online shopping platform Temu is introducing new software to identify and remove plagiarised UK greeting card designs from its websites.
The move follows work by the Greeting Card Association (GCA) to tackle the problem of designs being stolen and then sold as low quality versions.
Amanda and Frank Mountain, co-founders of York-based Lola Design, told the BBC that fraudulent versions of their products have made online sellers £100,000 in sales, around 13% of the business’ annual turnover.
Speaking to SMEWeb, Amanda said: “Let’s hope this is the first step towards some real change. I had a meeting with Temu and Anti Copying In Design (ACID). They told me they’ve proactively removed 3,138 of our designs in the last couple of months alone.
“When you think about that and then imagine the scale of the whole design industry, it’s completely devastating. It’s not only about stolen artwork; it has the potential to seriously damage the UK economy and the wider British creative industry.
“I’m so grateful to the GCA and ACID for continuing to drive awareness and push for real action on this. It makes such a difference having their support behind us all.”
The software being used by Temu means that firms don’t have to report each individual listing and instead only have to submit one link with the product and any others using the same stolen design automatically removed.
The GCA has also published updated guidelines for sellers to follow if they find designs for sale on Temu which have been plagiarised.
GCA chief executive Amanda Fergusson said:
“We know our members feel very strongly about copycat sellers and the difficulties they face addressing IP infringement on online marketplaces.
“What’s more we also know customers are often disappointed by cheap copies that undermine the thought and care of sending a card in the first place.
“But our dialogue with Temu and the actions they’re taking, is a welcome first-step to address those issues and we appreciate their collaboration in piloting a solution that could help address the problem.
“The GCA always stands ready to find solutions to the critical problems facing our vibrant, creative and entrepreneurial members that do so much to support high streets, communities and the wider economy.”