Art / News
Bristol artist ‘raging’ after discovering rip-off works on Temu
A Bristol artist who has found her work on Temu says it is “outrageous” that rip-off versions of her paintings are allowed to be sold without her permission.
Jenny Urquhart said that it took her mere seconds to find her unique artwork appropriated for sale on the e-commerce giant’s website.
Jenny’s colourful collage style is very well-known with her pieces sold via her own website and in shops across Bristol, as well as being a regular at arts trails.
Jenny Urquhart’s artwork is very recognisably her own – image: Jenny Urquhart
Jenny told Bristol24/7 that she was “raging” after discovering her work for sale on Temu without her knowledge.
She said: “I just saw the BBC story about Temu stealing artists’ designs and opened my Temu app just to see what comes up if you search for some of the key things that feature in my Bristol paintings.
“Within five seconds I found some of my pictures printed on socks, cushions and tote bags.
“I’m so angry. As an artist, you spend hours producing original designs and to think someone can just rip them off and make money from them is outrageous!
“In this current climate, every sale for local artists is so important and valued, no matter how small.
“The fact that people, who don’t even know you, are making a profit from your work is really upsetting.
“Temu need to sort this out. I don’t get angrily easily but I am raging!”
The cushion covers for sale on Temu are blatant copies of Jenny’s artwork – photo: Temu
In a statement to Bristol24/7, a Temu spokesperson said: “After receiving your inquiry, we immediately began a review and are in the process of taking down the listing in question while expanding our review to identify any related listings.
“Temu takes intellectual property rights seriously and requires all third-party sellers to comply with applicable laws and platform policies.
“We act promptly to remove infringing content once identified and continue to strengthen our systems to protect creators and rights holders.”
Main image: Temu
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