It was a super cute design, and it made you (potentially) two sales. And you learned some important and hard lessons.
So, here’s the takeaway from this mistake:
- Create your own unique designs.
- Don’t use copyrighted or trademarked images.
- Remove that image, so you don’t get slapped with legal fees from the image owner/entity, or your shop shut down by Zazzle.
- Always check for copyright/trademark status using USPTO for images, phrases, and tags you use in your products.
- Create your own unique designs in a similar style, subject, colors (a cute elephant cartoon — but NOT Horton) that prompted two people to buy your products.
Lots of good learning opportunities here. Be thankful that you dodged a bullet. And work hard to ensure that you don’t repeat this mistake.
