Trademark Policy (Effective from December 1, 2022) - Our House Rules

Our Etsy community is growing worldwide and creating some truly amazing things. We want to do everything we can to support our sellers' entrepreneurship, innovation, and growth. However, certain uses of our intellectual property may create confusion about whether something is endorsed, controlled, or even created by us. We want to ensure that you get the proper credit you deserve for your hard work, and prevent confusion about whether Etsy is involved in your work. Etsy is so proud of our community, as well as the company we've built and the trust we've earned, so we created this policy to give you confidence to create and share about Etsy in a responsible way.

This policy was published on October 19, 2022 and will take effect on December 1, 2022. The previous version of this policy can be viewed here.

This policy is a part of our Terms of Use. By using any of Etsy’s services, you’re agreeing to this policy and our Terms of Use. For issues regarding intellectual property not owned by Etsy, please refer to our Intellectual Property Policy.

1. The Etsy Marks
2. Uses of the Etsy Marks

1. The Etsy Marks

The “Etsy Marks” (or our "Marks") are the words, logos, graphics, designs, and other indicators that identify Etsy as the source of a product or service. For instance, the familiar orange official "Etsy" and "E" logos and the name "Etsy" are a few of our most important assets. We want you to be a proud part of Etsy, and we've put a lot of effort into ensuring that anything we provide you is of the highest quality – so part of our job is to protect our trademarks, brand identity, and reputation. The Etsy Marks are trademarks and trade dress of Etsy, Inc., protected in the US and around the world.

2. Uses of the Etsy Marks

Talking About Etsy Openly and Honestly

We’re all for legitimate and truthful commentary about Etsy. When you mention us, please spell and capitalize “Etsy” properly (and not “etsy” or "Esty"). If you're a member of the media, see our Press page.

DO
freely share your Etsy shop URL.
DO
share your Etsy experiences, like the awesome vintage sweater you bought or the local Etsy Team you joined.

Please don’t use the Etsy Marks in ways that are misleading, defamatory, unlawful, used as part of violations of our policies, or otherwise objectionable to us. We'd have a problem with that.

Etsy’s Logos, Specifically

Using the official Etsy logos, such as on promotional products, business cards, or banners, is generally considered to be a commercial use, and can be particularly confusing. We do not permit these uses of our marks without written prior approval from Etsy.

**DON'T**
use the official Etsy logos on things like merchandise without our prior permission.

Names and Branding

We know that your enthusiasm comes from a good place, but sometimes uses of the Etsy Marks can go too far. In addition to preventing confusion about our relationship with you, we also must protect against the occasional unfair and improper uses of our Marks.

Mainly, you are not permitted to use the Etsy Marks (or confusingly similar marks), in whole or in part, in a way that suggests a relationship with Etsy that isn't quite right – for example, that you are employed by, speak on behalf of, or are endorsed by us. For example, we don’t allow the use of the “Etsy” trademark as part of your shop or company name, and also don’t allow the registration, ownership, or use of a domain name containing the “Etsy” trademark.

**DON'T**
use the Etsy Marks or a term confusingly similar to “Etsy” in the name of your company, organization, domain name, or trademark.
**DON'T**
alter, distort, or modify the Etsy Marks, including adding other terms to the Etsy Marks to create new words.

DO
feel free to share your Etsy shop name and URL on your business cards.
**DON'T**
use our official logos on your business cards.

**DON'T**
use our marks as your social media username or profile photo.

**DON'T**
create content that mimics or uses our site’s look-and-feel.

Describing Your Own Content and Events and Advertising Your Shop

We're so happy when members of our community get together and throw a wildly successful seller event or take advantage of marketing opportunities to promote their shop(s), such as search engine marketing (SEM) like Google Ads. We're also thankful for those of you who have created helpful content or hold workshops to support the success of fellow Etsy members. Since these are generally commercial uses, however, we have to be careful about how the Etsy Marks are used. To distinguish all of this cool stuff you're doing from Etsy's official content and events, we ask you to follow the guidelines below.

If you’re creating content about Etsy, like books, videos, or podcasts, feel free to refer to the name “Etsy” to describe how it relates to us. You can use the name "Etsy" in the title of your content, as long as any of our other Marks aren't the most prominent part of the name or title. By "most prominent," we mean things like using "Etsy" as the first word in the title, or in terms of size, color, or font. We'd love to see your branding and hard work stand out and be at the forefront, not the Etsy Marks. Using a disclaimer also helps, like, “Etsy is a trademark of Etsy, Inc. This content is not created or endorsed by Etsy, Inc.”

DO
use Etsy in your title as long as it's not the most prominent part.
DO
use a clear disclaimer that your content or event is *about* Etsy, not by Etsy.
**DON'T**
use the official Etsy logo without our permission.

The same goes for when you're creating your own event involving the Etsy community. You can use the name "Etsy" when naming your event, as long as it isn't the most prominent part of the event name or promotional material.

DO
include "Etsy" in your event name as long as it's not the most prominent part.
**DON'T**
forget to check with us before using the official Etsy logo.

The same goes when you advertise your shop. Specifically, if you purchase keywords, advertise on search engines or purchase digital ads for your Etsy shop, you agree to act in accordance with the advertising platform’s Terms, including Google Ads, Microsoft Advertising, and other search network policies when advertising to drive traffic to Etsy.com on search engines. Your ads should not make it appear like you are officially sponsored by or affiliated with Etsy. See examples below:

DO
Be truthful and not misleading in your shop ads.
DO
Use your shop name prominently in the ad (such as in the ad heading or subject line). Ex: "Check out my shop [name of shop]"
DO
Link to your shop URL
DO
Where feasible, use a disclaimer to make it clear that your ad is not an official Etsy ad. For example, you could say "Etsy is a trademark of Etsy, Inc. This content is not created or endorsed by Etsy, Inc."
**DON'T**
Use the Etsy Marks prominently in your ad.
**DON'T**
Write the ad in a way that could suggest it's an official Etsy ad or is endorsed/approved by Etsy.
**DON'T**
Link to Etsy.com (instead, link to your shop URL).

Etsy Team captains and members should view the Community Policy for information on how to name their Team and Team events.

Last updated on Oct 20, 2022