Temu Takes Action Against Knock-Off Greeting Cards

Fri Dec 05 2025 11:05:10 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

In a significant move, the online marketplace Temu has pledged to expedite the removal of counterfeit greeting card designs from its platform, responding to concerns from the greeting card industry about rampant copyright violations.

In response to widespread copyright infringement concerns within the greeting card industry, Temu has announced a new initiative aimed at rapidly removing pirated designs from its platform. Previously criticized for a slow response to removing counterfeit listings, Temu will now employ a streamlined digital process allowing card publishers to submit links for collective takedown requests, utilizing AI technology to prevent re-uploading of protected designs. The move comes as many independent designers, like Amanda Mountain from Lola Design, report significant losses due to copycat products stealing their art.

Online shopping giant Temu has agreed to work with the greeting card industry to remove copied designs from its site more quickly.

Card firms say hundreds of their copyrighted images have been used to create cheap rip-offs, costing them thousands of pounds in lost sales.

Designers told the BBC the process for getting the plagiarised listings removed has been like the fairground game 'whack-a-mole' with copied products re-appearing within days.

Temu said protecting intellectual property was a top priority and that it was encouraging sellers to join the trial of a new takedown process specifically for the greetings card industry.

Amanda Mountain, the co-founder of York-based Lola Design, discovered the catalogue of designs she had built up over a decade had nearly all been copied.

Amanda and her husband, Frank, estimate that fraudulent versions of their products have made online sellers £100,000 in sales, equivalent to about 13% of Lola Design's annual turnover.

After pressure from the Greeting Card Association (GCA), Temu has implemented a bespoke takedown process for the industry, meaning stolen designs are removed more quickly and won't be able to be re-uploaded.

Amanda Fergusson, the chief executive of the GCA, said the industry welcomed the changes, emphasizing the disruptive impact of copycat sellers on both businesses and consumers.

As Temu promotes the initiative, it hopes to curtail the risk posed by copycat products in the greeting card sector while fostering creativity and innovation among artists.