Mom Finds the Shirt She’s Wearing is Sold At Target but There’s Just One BIG Problem [Video]
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Melissa’s designs are very cool. It was a ‘win’ for her to get Target to remove the tank tops which were illegally sporting her designs. But Melissa should be reimbursed by both Target and that third party contractor. If I were her, I’d be retaining an attorney and seeking damages over this. It’s theft and it’s just wrong. At first, Target was rather dismissive telling her to write a letter. Then they thought better of that, probably after legal consultation. If they had any sense at all, they would strike a deal with Melissa to get her line of clothing into all their stores. Or, they could get sued and should be. I can imagine her shock and dismay when she found her design on their shelves. Very unwelcome.
From IJReview:
Target may be known for its collaborations with clothing designers, but when one designer saw her shirt on display at a local store, it was a very unwelcome surprise.
As “Today” reports, Melissa Lay is the force behind SandiLake Clothing, a small business featuring fun, free-spirited clothing for the whole family. A stay-at-home mom from Oregon, Melissa sells her unique designs on the SandiLake website and Etsy.
As Melissa discovered, one her most popular designs, the #Merica tank top, had been copied and was now on the shelves at Target.
Fortunately, after the copycat T-shirt was revealed, Target pulled the shirt from its stores, explaining to Melissa that it had been made by a third-party vendor.
“Target has a deep appreciation for great design and it has always been our policy to respect the intellectual property rights of others,” Target told Today. “We’re continuing to look into this matter and are in the process of removing the tee from our assortment.”
While some have urged her to seek reimbursement, Melissa says that she isn’t looking for money from Target. Her priority was standing up for mom-entrepreneurs and small businesses.
“Really it’s more about mom-run businesses, bringing exposure to moms like me that are working from home and doing a lot more than just taking care of their kids, but they’re starting businesses,” she told Today.
Melissa seems like a good person. And what she did made a point for small businesses and entrepreneurs – but it needs go further. There should be fair compensation for the use of any product – if big corporations are throwing such legal hissies over trademarks, why shouldn’t that apply to small businesses? She got a lot of exposure on Today though and the line of clothing is selling like hotcakes – so some good came of this at least. Target needs to step up and do the right thing here – it’s disappointing that they did not do that immediately. They are in trouble financially, but that doesn’t excuse this. You can recover financially, but if your brand is trashed, you’re a dead duck in the business world.
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