Intellectual Property Policy
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Personalised embroidery sits close to other people’s rights. Customers sometimes ask for a team logo on a cap, a cartoon character on a child’s hoodie or a famous slogan on a sweatshirt, and we have to say no to those, kindly but firmly. This Intellectual Property Policy explains who owns what on stitchyhome.com, what you may and may not do with our content, which designs we can and cannot stitch, and how to report a trademark, design or publicity concern. Copyright notices follow the separate process on our DMCA page.
At a glance
- The Stitchy Home name, logo, site text, product photos and embroidery files belong to Stitchy Home or our licensors.
- You are welcome to share links to our pages; please do not copy our content or photos.
- We stitch original designs and your own personal content, not other companies’ logos, characters or slogans.
- Report a concern to support@stitchyhome.com; we acknowledge it within 1 business day and review it within 5 business days.
1. What belongs to Stitchy Home
The following are owned by Stitchy Home or used under licence, and are protected by copyright, trademark and other intellectual property laws:
- the Stitchy Home name and the stitched-house logo, including the needle and thread mark used as our site icon;
- the text of the site, including product descriptions, category guides, policies and help pages;
- product photographs, design previews, illustrations and graphics;
- the embroidery files (stitch files) we create to make each design, including those made from your text or photos;
- the layout, look and code of the site, other than third-party software used under its own licence.
2. What belongs to you
The names, dates, words and photos you send us for a design remain yours. You give us a limited licence to use them only to make, proof, ship and support your order, as set out in our Terms of Service. The finished garment we send you is yours to wear, give and keep. The stitch file used to make it remains ours; it is a technical file built for our machines and is not supplied with the order, but we can re-stitch the same design for you on request.
We never use a customer’s design, name or photo in our marketing without asking that customer first and receiving a clear yes. If you say yes and later change your mind, tell us and we remove the image from anywhere we control, such as the site and our own emails, within 5 business days.
Portrait photos you upload are covered by our Privacy Policy, which explains how long they are kept and how to ask for them to be deleted sooner.
3. How you may use our content
- View and print pages for your own personal, non-commercial use.
- Share links to our pages and products by message, email or social media.
- Quote a short extract of a page, with a link back to the original.
- Show a piece you bought from us in your own photos and posts.
4. What you may not do with our content
- Copy, download in bulk, resell or republish our product photos, previews or descriptions, including on marketplaces, print-on-demand sites or other stores.
- Recreate our designs to sell them, or present them as your own work.
- Use the Stitchy Home name or logo, or anything confusingly similar, in a way that suggests you are connected with us or endorsed by us.
- Scrape the site with automated tools, except normal search engine crawling.
5. Designs we can and cannot stitch
Every customer design is checked before the proof is sent. We are happy to stitch anything that is your own: names, nicknames, initials, dates, coordinates, short phrases you wrote, your own photos of your family and pets, and simple generic motifs such as hearts, stars, paw prints and house outlines. We will not stitch material that belongs to someone else without their permission.
| Request | Can we stitch it? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| “Grandma” with the grandchildren’s names | Yes | Your own personal text |
| A portrait of your dog from your own photo | Yes | Your photo, your pet |
| A couple portrait from a professional wedding photo | Yes, if the photographer allows personal reproduction | The photographer usually owns the copyright |
| Your town’s name and the year you moved there | Yes | Place names and dates are not protected works |
| A professional sports team logo or mascot | No | Registered trademarks owned by the team or league |
| A cartoon, film, game or comic character | No | Copyright and trademark of the studio or publisher |
| A brand name or logo, such as a car maker’s badge | No | Trademark of the company |
| A band name, song lyrics or a famous quotation still under copyright | No | Rights belong to the artist or publisher |
| A university or school crest | No, unless you show us written permission | Usually a protected mark |
| A celebrity’s face or name used to sell the piece | No | Right of publicity belongs to that person |
| Your own company logo | Contact us first | We confirm you own it and agree terms for business orders |
When we cannot stitch a request, we explain why in the proof email and suggest an original alternative, for example a generic football with your child’s name and number instead of a team crest. If no alternative suits you, the piece is cancelled and refunded in full within 7 days.
6. Our own designs and originality
Our product designs, preview illustrations and category artwork are created for Stitchy Home or used under licence. We do not knowingly copy other shops’ designs or sell items that infringe anyone’s trademark, copyright, design right or right of publicity. If we learn that something on our site may infringe someone’s rights, we review it promptly and remove or change it when appropriate. Products are never listed as “inspired by” a brand to borrow that brand’s name.
7. Our trademarks
“Stitchy Home” and our stitched-house logo identify our store and products. Please do not use them for other products, as a business name, as a domain name, or in advertising keywords in a way that could make people think they are dealing with us. Other names and marks that appear on our site, for example the names of carriers, belong to their owners and do not mean those owners endorse us.
8. How to report an intellectual property concern
If you believe something on our site, or a design we have been asked to stitch, infringes your trademark, design right, right of publicity or other intellectual property right, email support@stitchyhome.com with the subject “IP concern” and include:
- your name and contact details, and your relationship to the rights owner;
- the right concerned, for example a trademark registration number and country, or a description of the design and where it was first published;
- the URL of each page concerned, or a description of the design if it relates to an order;
- a short explanation of why you believe it infringes;
- a statement that the information you provide is accurate and that you are the owner or authorised to act for the owner.
For copyright in images and text, please use the process on our DMCA page instead, which sets out the legal requirements for copyright notices.
9. What happens next
We acknowledge your report within 1 business day and review it within 5 business days. While we review a report about a live page, we may remove the content temporarily. If the report concerns an open order, we pause stitching. If the report is valid, we remove or change the content, cancel the affected design and tell you what we did. If we need more information to decide, we ask before reaching a conclusion. If we disagree with the report, we explain why in writing.
10. When a customer’s content is challenged
If a design you asked us to stitch is the subject of a report, we contact you before doing anything with your order. You may change the design to an original one, show us that you have permission, or cancel the piece for a full refund within 7 days. Your personal details are not passed to the person who made the report unless the law requires it.
11. Fan pieces, tributes and in-jokes
Many good gift ideas start with something the recipient loves: a team, a show, a game, a band. We cannot stitch the official names, logos or characters, but we can usually capture the feeling with original elements. A football fan might get their surname and a number in the team’s colours without the crest; a book lover might get a stack of plain books and a line they wrote themselves; a family that quotes a film at every dinner might get the quote paraphrased into their own words. When you are unsure, describe the idea in the order note and we will suggest an original version on the proof before anything is stitched.
12. Business and club logos
Stitching your own small business, club or family-reunion logo is possible as a separate arrangement, because we need to confirm that the logo is yours and agree quantities, placements and timing in writing. Email us the logo, who owns it and how many pieces you need. We will not stitch a business logo sent by someone who is not connected to that business, even as a gift for an employee, unless the business has given permission.
13. Thread colour names and fonts
The thread colour names on our product pages, such as Prussian Blue or Deep Gold, are descriptive names chosen by us and are not trademarks of thread makers. Fonts used in our designs are used under their licences; choosing a font for your piece does not give you a licence to the font file itself.
14. Ideas and suggestions
If you send us ideas for new designs, garments or features, we may use them without paying you, and we will never publish your personal information or name you without permission. Please do not send us ideas you consider confidential.
15. Permission requests
To ask for permission to use our photos, text or logo, for example in a press article or a gift guide, email us with what you would like to use and where. We usually agree to editorial use with credit and a link, and we reply within 1 business day.
16. Contact
Intellectual property questions: support@stitchyhome.com, subject “IP concern”. Postal address: Stitchy Home, 4810 W Gary Way, Laveen AZ 85339, United States. See also our Terms of Service and Contact Us.