A Bristol-based artist has expressed her frustration after discovering hundreds of items featuring her artwork being sold without authorization on the online marketplace Temu. Jenny Urquhart, 49, said it felt "infuriating" to find her designs being used on various products ranging from men's underwear to home décor items.
Urquhart decided to investigate Temu after reading a recent BBC report about card companies complaining about counterfeit greeting cards being sold on the platform. Her search revealed "pages and pages" of unauthorized items using her original designs. "You think of a gift item and I'd find one of my images printed on it," Urquhart explained, describing products that included cushions, car mats, and boxer shorts.
Temu, which was founded in Boston, Massachusetts, in 2022 but is owned by Chinese e-commerce giant PDD Holdings, markets itself as "honest, ethical and trustworthy" on its website. The company claims to offer low prices by shipping products directly from factories to consumers. However, this business model has led to numerous intellectual property disputes.
This latest case follows a pattern of similar complaints against the platform. In April 2024, the BBC reported on multiple grievances against Temu, including one from a Kent-based illustrator who also found unauthorized copies of her designs on the site. Urquhart said she was motivated to search for her own work after reading that the company had agreed to collaborate with the greeting card industry to remove infringing copies from its platform.
After Urquhart spoke about her case on BBC Breakfast, she reported that most of the items featuring her artwork have since disappeared from the website. However, the financial impact of such unauthorized use remains significant for independent artists like herself. "It's really hard at the moment to make money out of art because quite rightly buying art comes well below obviously, paying the mortgage, buying food, paying the bills," she said.
Urquhart emphasized the personal toll of seeing her work exploited without compensation. "At the moment we're really struggling. As soon as I get an order on my website I'm overjoyed - every single sale counts," she explained. "To think there's some multi-million pound business on the other side of the world just flogging your stuff. It's completely out of your control and infuriating."
In response to the allegations, a Temu spokesperson stated that the company had "immediately reviewed and removed" the questionable listings when they were notified about them. The spokesperson emphasized that "Temu takes intellectual property rights seriously and requires all third-party sellers to comply with applicable laws and platform policies." The company also claimed it "acts promptly to remove infringing content once identified."
This incident highlights the ongoing challenges artists face in protecting their intellectual property in the digital marketplace, particularly when dealing with international e-commerce platforms that rely on third-party sellers. The case demonstrates both the vulnerability of creative professionals and the importance of media attention in addressing copyright violations on major online platforms.
