Can You Sell Labubu Dupes on Etsy? Pop Mart's Trademark & Copyright Rules (2026)

Labubu is one of the most-searched product terms on Etsy right now, and that is exactly why it is one of the most dangerous. Pop Mart's snaggle-toothed monster has gone from niche designer toy to global obsession, and where demand spikes, infringement reports follow. If you are selling Labubu dupes, crochet Labubus, 3D-printed figures, or "Labubu-inspired" accessories, you are operating in one of the most aggressively policed corners of the platform.

This guide breaks down what Pop Mart actually owns, what gets your listings pulled, the narrow space where you can legitimately operate, and what to do if you have already received a strike.

The short version: The Labubu name is a registered trademark and the character design is protected by copyright. Selling unauthorized figures, dupes, or 3D prints is infringement, full stop. The handmade and "inspired by" angles are far narrower than most sellers assume, and Pop Mart is enforcing harder than almost any brand on Etsy in 2026.

What Pop Mart actually owns

To sell safely, you have to understand that Labubu is protected by two separate legal systems at once. They overlap, and you can violate either one independently.

Trademark protects the name and branding. Pop Mart's U.S. subsidiary, Dream Machine Inc., has filed and registered trademarks covering "LABUBU" and related marks in toy and collectible categories. In China, Pop Mart has filed nearly 2,200 trademarks and registered more than 70 copyrights tied to the Labubu and "The Monsters" universe. Trademark is what stops you from putting the word "Labubu" in your title, tags, or description to attract buyers, even if your product is technically your own creation.

Copyright protects the character design itself. The specific look of Labubu, the pointed ears, the nine teeth, the mischievous grin, the body proportions, is an original artistic work owned by Pop Mart and its artist Kasing Lung. Copyright is what stops you from reproducing that design in any medium: resin, vinyl, crochet, polymer clay, 3D print, or a flat illustration on a sticker.

This is the trap most sellers fall into. They strip the word "Labubu" out of their listing, assume they are safe, and keep selling a figure that is unmistakably the copyrighted character. Removing the trademark does nothing about the copyright violation, and vice versa. You have to clear both.

What gets your Etsy listing pulled

Pop Mart does not rely on stumbling across infringers. Since at least 2021 it has used dedicated IP-monitoring firms like Red Points and MarkMonitor to scan marketplaces, and it works directly with Etsy, Amazon, and eBay to remove listings. In a single recent year, over 12,000 counterfeit Labubu products were pulled across major platforms, and roughly 1.83 million counterfeit units were seized in 2025 alone. This is an industrial-scale enforcement operation, not an occasional cease-and-desist.

On Etsy specifically, the following will get reported and removed:

Selling actual counterfeit Labubu figures, blind boxes, or "1:1" replicas sourced from a supplier. This is straightforward counterfeiting and the fastest route to a permanent ban.

Listing handmade figures, crochet versions, polymer clay charms, or earrings that copy the character design, even when you made them yourself by hand. Handmade does not cancel copyright. A hand-crocheted Labubu is still a reproduction of a protected work.

Using the word "Labubu," "Pop Mart," "The Monsters," or obvious misspellings ("Lafufu," "Labubuu") anywhere in your title, tags, or description. Pop Mart enforces against deliberate misspellings used to dodge search filters.

Selling or sharing 3D-printable STL files of Labubu. This is now a settled legal question. In early 2026 Pop Mart sued Bambu Lab over user-uploaded Labubu models on its MakerWorld platform; the two sides settled in March 2026, with Bambu Lab removing all related files. If a 3D-printing platform with nearly 10 million monthly users folded rather than fight, an individual Etsy seller has no realistic defense.

Selling stickers, prints, digital downloads, or apparel featuring Labubu artwork. Reproducing the character in 2D is the same copyright violation as reproducing it in 3D.

A single complaint is often enough. Etsy operates a three-strikes-style system for IP violations, but for a brand as active as Pop Mart, one validated complaint can remove your listing immediately, and a single serious trademark hit can trigger suspension on its own. You do not get a generous warning runway.

"But it's inspired by" — the line that actually matters

The phrase "Labubu-inspired" gets thrown around constantly, and it almost never means what sellers think it means. Inspiration is legal; reproduction is not. The test is whether an ordinary buyer would recognize your product as the protected character.

You are generally on safe ground if you create an original monster or elf-style figure that draws on the broad aesthetic, plush blind-box collectibles, cute-creepy creatures, pastel "ugly-cute" designs, but does not copy Labubu's specific features. A different number of teeth, different ears, different proportions, its own name, and no reference to Pop Mart in your listing. The category of "designer toy" is not owned by anyone; the specific Labubu character is.

You cross the line the moment your figure is identifiably Labubu: the nine pointed teeth, the signature ear shape and grin, the recognizable silhouette. Calling it "inspired," "dupe," "fan-made," or "tribute" does not change the legal analysis. As we cover in our guide on whether you can sell fan art on Etsy, the "fan" framing carries no special protection, and there is no general "handmade exemption" to copyright.

This is the same trap that catches sellers of Sonny Angel and Smiski dupes and crochet Squishmallow versions. The medium changes; the legal exposure does not. If your whole sales pitch depends on the buyer recognizing the brand, you are selling the brand, not your own work.

What you actually can sell

There is real, profitable space in this market if you build your own IP instead of borrowing Pop Mart's:

Design and sell your own original blind-box-style monster characters under your own name and brand. The collectible-toy format is wide open.

Make genuinely original "ugly-cute" creatures in crochet, clay, or resin that do not replicate Labubu's protected features. Give them their own identity and market them on their own merits.

Sell accessories and display items that are compatible with collectible figures, blind-box display cases, stands, protective shells, bag clips, without depicting or naming any protected character. Be careful: you still cannot use "Labubu" in the listing to signal compatibility, because that is trademark use. Describe the dimensions and figure type instead.

The sellers who win in trending categories are almost always the ones who use the trend as a signal of demand and then build something they fully own. That is an asset that compounds; a dupe is a liability that ticks until a report lands.

If you've already been reported

If you have received an IP notice or a removed listing, move quickly and deliberately. Etsy generally gives you a limited window, often around 10 business days, to respond before the violation sits permanently on your record.

First, do not panic-delete your whole shop, and do not file a counter-notice unless you genuinely have authorization or believe the claim is a mistake. A false counter-notice on a clear-cut Labubu reproduction makes things worse and can escalate to the rights holder pursuing you directly.

Second, remove every related listing immediately, including anything adjacent that uses the name or design. Reducing your active exposure is the single most important thing you can do to protect the account.

Third, understand exactly where you stand. Our walkthrough on Etsy's policy violations page and how to manage IP strikes shows how to read your record and track strikes, and if your shop has already been suspended, what to do when your Etsy shop is suspended and whether you can come back from a permanent suspension cover your realistic options. The honest truth is that Etsy is not obligated to reinstate anyone, and many permanent-suspension appeals are denied, so prevention is worth far more than any appeal.

The bottom line

Labubu is a textbook example of why chasing a hot keyword can sink a shop. The demand is real, but so is one of the most aggressive IP-enforcement programs on the platform, backed by registered trademarks, more than 70 copyrights, automated monitoring firms, and a willingness to litigate all the way to settlement against a 10-million-user 3D-printing company. There is no clever framing, no "inspired by," and no "handmade" carve-out that makes selling the actual character safe.

Use the trend the smart way: as proof that collectors are spending, then sell them something you own outright. Before you list anything in a branded category, it is worth checking the trademark first so you know precisely where the line sits.

ShieldMyShop scans your listings against trademark and copyright risks before a brand's legal team does, flagging the titles, tags, and designs most likely to trigger a takedown. Start a free trial and find out where your shop is exposed, before a report finds it for you.