A York designer has accused online retailers of ‘ripping off’ businesses like hers after claiming a loss of £100,000 from such websites selling products using their ‘stolen’ designs.

Amanda and Frank Mountain of Lola Design approached York Central MP Rachael Maskell about the issue, with the Labour MP calling on government minister Chris Bryant to protect artists and their businesses.

The Mountains, who sell their designs online on products such as stationery, had earlier told their MP that websites like Shein and Temu were selling products manufactured in China using their stolen designs.

Amanda Mountain said: “We've lost over £100,000 to these unethical practices, and every time we take action, the stolen designs just reappear. We need the Government to step in and ensure UK businesses like ours are protected. This isn’t just about our livelihood it’s about standing up for originality, fairness, and the value of creativity."

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Ms Maskell says the government needs to better safeguard such businesses, saying the fake products are taken down from the websites, only appear a few weeks later, and this was happening on an ‘industrial scale.’

In parliament last week, she accused Temu and Shein of “ripping off” the work of Amanda and other artists intellectual property.

Asking quizzing the Minister of Creative Industries, Arts and Tourism about what the government could do to stop this, Mr Bryant responded: “Copyright and the protection of artists’ moral and economic rights is an absolutely essential part of ensuring that they are properly remunerated for their creativity. We will do everything in our power to make sure that the copyright regime remains, is strong, and is strongly enforced.”

A spokesperson for Shein told the Press: “Shein takes all claims of infringement seriously. It is not our intent to infringe anyone's valid intellectual property and it is not our business model to do so.

“Shein's vendors are required to comply with company policy and certify their products do not infringe third-party IP and we continue to invest in and improve our product review process.

Similarly, Temu, told the Press it vets the independent third-party merchants that sell on its site and assurances on intellectual property must be given by the supplier. It also uses sophisticated technology, including algorithms, to try and find such abuses and it co-operates with regulators.

A spokesperson continued: “When we receive reports of infringement, we promptly investigate each case and take appropriate action. Temu has strict policies against sellers who infringe on intellectual property rights.

"Actions we take may include the immediate removal of infringing listings, suspension of listing privileges, and account termination. For sellers who act maliciously or in bad faith, such as repeat infringers, we may impose multiple sanctions, including, but not limited to, account suspension or termination.”

With Lola Design, who has made a claim against Temu, the website says it removed all the products flagged by the designers through the Temu IP protection portal. It has also “incorporated the relevant works from Lola Design to our database for proactive monitoring.”

The spokesperson added Temu has launched a dedicated IP protection portal for rights holders, so the website can better support designers. It has also launched an improved protection centre and significantly expanded its IP protection team leading to fewer complaints.

“Additionally, 99% of our IP complaints and cases are resolved within five business days, and our average resolution time is around one business day. These figures rank among the best in the industry.”