Valley artist seeking answers after discount site uses her popular Etsy painting (2024)

A Phoenix-based artist says one of her paintings was taken without her knowledge and posted on a popular discount shopping website.

Myja Lark tells ABC15 that the retail site Temu used her art without permission.

A few years ago, Lark, an El Mirage resident, put a brush to a canvas and painted a piece of work called "Three Sisters," inspired by her own experience of how the world around her reacted to her hair – while she was at a predominately white school in Oregon.

”My hair has always been a point of contention, externally,” she said.

Lark says between the constant questions and feeling different, she used cosmetic chemicals aimed to straighten her hair to look like everyone else.

When those hair products created chemical burns and became too much, she eventually embraced her natural hair in her adulthood, which led to the inspiration of "Three Sisters."

“I really wanted to create a body of work for black and brown girls, like you’re beautiful the way that you are, you don’t have to straighten your hair, you don’t have to put extra things in your hair,” said Lark.

That painting is one of her best-sellers on Etsy.

Last week, Lark was notified by another artist that her "Three Sisters" painting was on the Chinese-based discount e-commerce site Temu, without her permission.

”I think I was angry, I was sad, I was frustrated,” she said.

A painting inspired by her own life experience, which she sold for around $100 depending on size, was for sale on Temu for just over $20.

“You are taking my intellectual property, you’re stealing it. You’re marketing it back to the same community I’m trying to send a message to. It just disgusted me this morning,” she said.

Lark says most of the money she makes from her art goes to the medical expenses of her 3-year-old Godson, Moses.

For the past month, Moses has been recovering at Phoenix Children’s Hospital from bacterial meningitis.

ABC15 reached out to Temu and an official says they took it down on June 17.

Read the full statement from Temu, below:

Temu is a marketplace where third-party sellers offer their products directly to consumers. Each listing is created and managed by independent merchants. We require sellers to submit documentation and sign an agreement to ensure they comply with legal standards and respect intellectual property rights in their targeted markets.

When we receive reports of infringement, we promptly investigate each case and take appropriate actions, from removing product listings and images to terminating vendor accounts for serious violations. Throughout their association with us, merchants are continually guided by our platform. The aim is to foster deep-seated respect for third-party intellectual property rights so that merchants maintain legal and compliant business operations.

Since our launch, we have prioritized intellectual property protection, making significant investments and continuous improvements based on feedback from brands and copyright owners. In September last year, we transitioned from processing complaints via email to launching a dedicated IP protection portal at [https://www.temu.com/intellectual-property-complaint.html [temu.com]]. This portal makes it easier for rights holders to submit and track their cases. We have also introduced an enhanced brand protection center and have been expanding our IP protection team. We now resolve over 99% of takedown notices within two working days, which is much faster than the industry average. We have seen a decline in the number of complaints with the enhanced IP protection measures.

On June 17, artist Myja Lark filed a complaint with our IP portal. Separately, our monitoring team flagged a related social media post by the artist and escalated it for action. The product listing in question was removed on the same day.

We welcome oversight from all sectors. Should you come across any further issues, please feel free to contact us so we can investigate and address them.

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