Was brought to my attention on another selling platform when I likened an item to Quant style, I got a telling off and warning as not permitted. also celebrity imagery along with celeb naming… Seems to be permitted on folksy, just wondering why? Isn’t this considered keyword spamming here?? and the use of celebrity images? Permitted?
Personally I wouldn’t go near for fear of setting myself up in some kind of legal battle!!
Unless you have permission to use the name of a celebratory to advertise your items for sale then you will be violating tthat person’s Trademark. This could mean they can not just sent you a Cease and Desist letter and have you remove their name but they can get your shop shut down and sue you.
So if you see it here then the person either doesn’t know about Trademarks and Copyright laws or they do and are willing to take the risk and run their business illegally.
You can report to the Trademark owner but I don’t believe Folksy themselves are able to do any thing until the owner of the Trademark contacts them.
I’ve seen a lot of Trademark violations of late not as many as ‘other’ venues but still I have started to see ‘Disney’ and Dr Who ‘inspired’ items which is very sad.
I’m with you I wouldn’t touch the with a barge pole, and I want to run a legimate business and use my own creativity and not sell off the backs of others.
2 Likes
I see lots of it going on here and they seem to be doing well too as they are probably found easier on searches with it being a well known brand or name 
I too wouldn’t cross that path as its such dodgy territory. I take pride in the jewellery I make, and each and every item is sketched out first all from my own ideas. I enjoy using my creativity thats what spurs me on 
Karen 
I saw a blog reference that allowed a craft bag made of Cath Kitson fabric to refer to that brand by the seller, but for the seller to make it clear the bag itself was not a Cath Kitson bag. So there can be some flexibility, but always check with the designer first, and don’t be surprised if they say ‘No !’
By the way my wife’s aunt worked for Mary Quant, and made up lots of her designs whilst employed by her. She was so good at her job, she made my wife’s wedding dress, but I don’t think it was a Mary Quant design, as that would probably have required a licence, and money to change hands.
If you look at “what I can sell on folksy” it does give information about using brand names/ images. I think Cath Kidston is one of the few that allow their fabric to be used and named for resale although as mentioned it mst be described as made with CK fabric not as a CK item. Dr who, Disney and other fabrics are, I believe, available to buy in order to make things for personal use not for resale but many do. Like others posting here, I wouldn’t risk it but I suppose its big business and many feel the risk is worth taking.
The same applies to non CE marked toys, a lot of people sell these, many try to get around it by stating it is not a toy but according to trading standards that is not sufficient - it’s a wooly area so I steer clear. Another dodgy area is making items that look like food, not 100% sure about the regs there but I know trading standards have rules regarding that too.
I’m not sure how much folksy can do regarding the policing of these items. I know a couple of years ago I listed an item that included branded chocolates without realising that it was a prohibited item and folksy removed it from my shop so I suppose they are able to do it but probably don’t have the resources to do so.