We take infringement and art theft very seriously. TeePublic has instituted several safety measures to help protect artists on the marketplace. You can read more about them below:
- Disabling right-click usability on design previews, making it harder to save images visible on the site.
- Watermark Functionality - optional for all artists as an added layer of protection on design previews
- Bot protection
- Real humans behind the legal@teepublic.com inbox to respond to claims
Along with these measures, we continue to build new tools to protect your artwork. (This includes a lot of stuff behind the scenes that we don’t share, specifically so the bad actors can’t work around it!)
But we also want to be honest - the unfortunate reality is that despite all of this, there are still determined art thieves trying to rip off anything they can find. And this isn’t unique to TeePublic - posting your art on any shop or social media can put it at risk. Think about it like this: pretend you’re protecting your home. You get an alarm, a fence, cameras, and lock all your valuables in a safe. Of the 100 people that try to break in, 97 give up. But the three who are really skilled and motivated find a way. There’s never a foolproof plan - someone will always jump down from the ceiling, dodging lasers - and there likely will never be a silver bullet.
We say this not to be discouraging, but rather realistic about the challenges we’re all facing - and how frustrating it is for all of us when a legit artist’s work is used improperly. So, make sure to enable watermarks on your designs, and be mindful of where you post your art online. While we aren’t able to remove work from other websites for you, if you see your designs used without your permission on TeePublic, send us a takedown notice.
Obligatory Yet Very Important Legal Disclaimer
Don’t be fooled by any complicated jargon. We are not your lawyer and this is not legal advice. We recommend contacting an attorney if you need an actual legal consultation. Rather, this is general information aimed at giving you the legal lay of the land. While we can’t defend you in court, we know that art and IP ownership can be murky territory; the least we can do is arm you with the right kind of knowledge to get you started.