Melissa Lay, from the outskirts of Portland, Oregon, was in for a surprise after receiving an image of a shirt identical to her design. Lay opened her own clothing shop online last year via Etsy, charging $25. Meanwhile, Target started producing and selling the shirt for $12.99 at its retailers. Lay developed her design on Photoshop and printed the shirts in her garage while Target has workers in Guatemala producing their version.
In order to proceed with taking legal actions, Lay must copyright the item. Details that may seem insignificant may also play a large part on whether or not she wins the case. She received media attention after gaining acknowledgement from people and small business owners. She feels suing the shop would cause a loss on her part, having to spend money on representation and not having the item copyrighted. As of now, Target is planning on taking the shirt off display.
Target isn't the only retailer to do this. Copying designs seems to be a reoccurring trend, not only in big stores, but in smaller online shops as well. It has been seen on Etsy, Amazon, and basically any website run by users selling items.
- Juanita Guzman
In order to proceed with taking legal actions, Lay must copyright the item. Details that may seem insignificant may also play a large part on whether or not she wins the case. She received media attention after gaining acknowledgement from people and small business owners. She feels suing the shop would cause a loss on her part, having to spend money on representation and not having the item copyrighted. As of now, Target is planning on taking the shirt off display.
Target isn't the only retailer to do this. Copying designs seems to be a reoccurring trend, not only in big stores, but in smaller online shops as well. It has been seen on Etsy, Amazon, and basically any website run by users selling items.
- Juanita Guzman