Craft Gossip

Independent craft blog since 2007

Guest Post: Why Etsy Sellers & Mompreneurs Should Forget Trademarks & Focus on Copyrights?

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Etsy Copyright

Editors Note: We would like to welcome Matt Lowe who has kindly written this guest post about the differences between trademark and copyright and why one is more important than the other.

Matt is an in house counsel in Colorado and is the author of the An Etsy Seller’s Guide to Copyright Protection (for sale). Matt is a Graduate of Pepperdine University School of Law and lives in Salt Lake City, UT,  with his wife and 2 toddler boys (and a baby girl on the way).

As a business attorney, I’d be rich if I had a nickel for every time an Etsy Seller or Mompreneur asked me “Shouldn’t I trademark my Etsy Shop or Business Name?”

My answer is always a resounding “NO.” For an Etsy Seller or Mompreneur, it’s much more important and practical to focus on copyright protection than trademark protection.

Allow me to explain why copyright protection is more important than trademark protection:

A trademark protects a brand name (like Coca-Cola) from someone else (like Doug’s Cola) using the Coca-Cola name to create customer confusion to benefit Doug’s Cola.   For example, Doug’s Cola cannot use the Coca-Cola logo on its website to trick customers into thinking they are buying Coca-Cola.

But, Etsy Shops rarely gain the national brand awareness of Coca-Cola to justify the time and money required to register a trademark.

On the other hand, an Etsy Seller should understand copyright protection because virtually every product sold on Etsy is copyrightable.   A copyright protects any original, artistic, or literary work, so long as a few elements are satisfied (explained in Matt’s book).

As an Etsy Seller, a trademark only protects your one brand name, while copyright protection covers hundreds of different products in your Etsy Shop from unlawful piracy, copying, or duplication.

And if that’s not convincing enough, consider this: (i) A copyright is much cheaper than a trademark, (ii) You don’t have to register a copyright in order to actually copyright your works, and (iii) Copyright has an appealing little symbol ©, whereas the trademark symbol is blasé at best.

And that’s why I recommend that Etsy Sellers and Mompreneurs focus on Copyright Protection rather than Trademark Protection.

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Comments

  1. I just want to say, I have seen soooo many things that the sellers say you can’t use sell or something else from one of the things they have made. I have seen the same things made, just colot has changed, and they claim it as their own. Well a Log Canin quilt is a log Cabin quilt no matter who made it or what color it is. It has been around for a hundred years, so how can someone now make it and say it is theirs and copy write it?? That goes for everything else that has been around for many many years. I have beed very upset about this subject for as long as I have been going to all the craft sites. They have no right to copywrite a pattern that has been around as long as most of these patterns have. Gerry

  2. I am sooo with you Gerry on this “subject” of copyrighting everything on earth as if someone just came up with it!! “UGH!” the majority of what is out there are things that have been tweaked in some manner for forever, and I’ve been around for 65 years – crafting for that long as well – started when I was a child and watched my mother and neighbor-ladies. So I ain’t so gung-ho on your copyright “myth” unless IT IS SOMETHING truly original and NOT RE-INCARNATED!!! Dia

  3. Correct me if I am wrong, but this is my understanding:

    While I ask on my listings that my patterns not be used to create work for sale, I am aware that I cannot enforce that under copyright protections.

    I sell patterns, and when I sell one I retain the copyright to my design, so the buyer cannot make 100 copies of it and sell it in their shop. They can, however, recreate it themselves and sell it, as a pattern or as a finished product. Ethical, maybe not. Legal, yes.

    When I first started on Etsy, a potter asked me to take down a listing that had a phrase on it similar to, but not exactly, the phrase she used. I had not been aware of her shop before I made the pattern. Not knowing any better, I took it down, because I was still under the impression that Etsy was a friendly community where everyone wanted everyone to succeed. Now I know better. It is a friendly community, but we’re there to do business.

Have you read?

Learn about Costa Rica for Kids

I have a friend whose family is from Costa Rica so I’m excited to share more about this Central American country with you. Officially the Republic of Costa Rica, it borders both the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean, and has a maritime border with Ecuador, as well as physical borders with Nicaragua and Panama. 

Costa Rica Basics

The country has a population of about five million and a land area of about 19,760 square miles (or 51,180 square kilometers). The capital, San Jose, is also the largest city, with a metropolitan area population of around two million. 

Costa Rica had an indigenous population before Spain colonized it in the 16th century. It became part of the First Mexican Empire, then the Federal Republic of Central America, from which it declared independence in 1847. 

Costa Rica abolished its army in 1949 following a civil war, making it one of the few sovereign nations without a standing army.

The official language is Spanish but other indigenous languages and patois are also recognized. The name means “the rich coast” in Spanish. 

It is a presidential republic with a president and two vice presidents, as well as a legislative assembly. 

Costa Rica has a tropical climate and has a great amount of biodiversity. The country has stopped deforestation and worked to restore habitats that had been destroyed. 

As of 2023, about 95 percent of the nation’s electricity was generated from renewable resources (mostly hydropower).

Costa Rican National Symbols

The Costa Rica flag features blue stripes at the top and bottom, with white stripes next to those and a wider red stripe in the center. The same flag has been used, with minor modifications and changes to the coat of arms, which is shown on some versions of the flag, since 1848. Because the country gained its independence during the French revolution the colors stand for the ideals of that struggle: freedom, equality and brotherhood. 

The colors can also represent the blue sky and perseverance, clear thinking and the sun casting its light of freedom on the people of Costa Rica, among other things. 

The national anthem is “Himno Nacional de Costa Rica,” or “National Anthem of Costa Rica,” also sometimes known by the lyric “Noble patria, tu hermosa bandera” (“noble fatherland your beautiful flag”). It was fist adopted in 1852, but the lyrics have changed through the years and became official in 1949. 

La guaria morada, a purple orchid, is the national flower of Costa Rica. Guanacaste, or elephant ear tree, is the national tree.

The national bird is the Yigüirro or clay-colored thrush, and the white-tailed deer and manatee are considered symbols of the fauna of the country. The two native species of sloths are also considered national symbols. 

The marimba is the national instrument, and the oxcart (la carreta) is considered a national symbol for its historic role in the economic and social development of the country. 

Indigenous stone spheres, recognized as a world heritage site by UNESCO, are also a national symbol (more on them below).  

And of course, coffee is recognized as being of national importance to the country’s economic development. 

Costa Rica Activities for Kids

Pull out all your rainforest activities to talk about the animals and plants of Costa Rica. A few to get you started: jungle math from Turner Tots, rainforest animal coloring pages from The Craft Train, rainforest bingo from Precision Roller, and a climbing tree frog craft from Barley & Birch.

Learn about the phrase “pura vida,” which means pure life but is also kind of a way of life in Costa Rica.

Check out how Unremarkable Files studied Costa Rica at home, and learn some cool Costa Rica facts with these printable fact sheets from Kids Activities Blog.

Find Spanish resources for teaching about Costa Rica from Srta Spanish. There are lots of resources in English and Spanish for learning about Costa Rica at Teachers Pay Teachers.

Read some books about Costa Rica like ABCs of Costa Rica or Animals of Costa Rica. 

Listen to some Costa Rican marimba music (that link is to a long playlist of videos to choose from). 

Learn more about the mysterious stone spheres and talk about how and why you think they were made. 

One of the most popular dishes in Costa Rica is gallo pinto, which despite sounding like meat (it literally means spotted rooster) is actually beans and rice. Of course everyone’s abeula has their own recipe but you can try this one from Striped Spatula, which uses black beans, or this one from Pura Vida Moms, which I love because it specifically calls for day old beans and rice.