A small Australian businesswoman and graphic designer has claimed online shopping giant Temu sold her designs without permission.
Lauren Sissons designs cards, art prints, notepads and other stationery for her business, Lauren Sissons Studio.
Based in Queensland on the Sunshine Coast, Ms Sissons has gained national and global popularity for her designs.
Despite her profile, she was surprised to find copies of her designs advertised on Chinese retail giant Temu.
“I realized this a few months ago when I was on Pinterest and saw an ad for one of my greeting cards that I knew wasn’t my mockup,” she told A Current Affair.
“I clicked and it took me to Temu.”
Ms Sissons alerted Temu but said the online shopping giant initially told her they would not remove adverts featuring her greeting card design.
“I went back, uploaded screenshots of my artwork and provided physical photographs of it in my hand,” he said.
‘They finally came back a few days later and informed me that they had removed that ad.’
Australian graphic designer Lauren Sissons (pictured) has been left furious after Chinese retail giant Temu allegedly stole her art to sell it at a fraction of the price.
However, just weeks later, Temu allegedly included another item identical to one of Ms. Sisson’s.
Her $25 alphabet print was reportedly available on the site for $4.99, and Ms Sisson claimed Temu is “exploiting” artists.
“It seems as if someone has been looking at your work opportunistically, almost as if they were looking for which design of mine would be the most profitable for them,” Sissons said.
‘It’s just that feeling that I’m an individual, I’m an artist, against a huge, huge system.
“I think it’s a platform built to exploit those artists, individuals and small businesses.”
Attorney Richard Mitri told A Current Affair that artists are virtually powerless if they find themselves in Sissons’ position and need to go to China to try to stop her.
The greeting card sold on Temu that copies Lauren Sissons’ design
The original design, which Ms. Sissons sells for $25 as an art print.
As a result, Mitri said, large platforms like Temu “know they can continue to do so with near impunity.”
He also noted that they sell the products for “one-hundredth, if not less, of the value they have to a person in Australia.”
In a statement to A Current Affair, Temu said there are “strict policies against sellers who violate intellectual property rights.”
“For repeat offenders or those acting in bad faith, we may impose multiple sanctions, including a permanent ban from the platform,” a Temu spokesperson told A Current Affair.
‘We also maintain a block list to prevent problematic sellers from coming back under a different name.’